Former Trinidad, Texas municipal judge Shellena Bivens says she was dismissed after throwing out a charge against a man who protested outside City Hall over discoloured water. Her account has intensified scrutiny of the town’s handling of complaints, following the earlier arrest of resident Jennifer Combs, who had used Facebook to gather reports about the water.

Combs spent 23 hours in jail on a felony false-alarm charge, but a Henderson County grand jury later declined to indict her. She has since brought a federal lawsuit alleging political retaliation, while Bivens says officials fired her a week after she dismissed the protest-related case. The allegations raise questions about whether local authorities responded appropriately to public criticism.