Texas Briefly

Texas man who refused mask arrested for restaurant stabbing

LEAGUE CITY (AP) — Police in Texas have arrested a man who was accused of stabbing a restaurant manager with a pocketknife after being told he needed to wear a mask.

The stabbing happened in March at a Jack in the Box restaurant in League City, just southeast of Houston. Authorities had issued an arrest warrant for James Schulz Jr. shortly after the stabbing occurred but he wasn't taken into custody until this week, police said.

At the time, police said Schulz refused to follow the restaurant’s policy requiring him to wear a mask to protect against the spread of the coronavirus. Police said he then attacked the manager.

The manager had three stab wounds in the arm and upper torso, police said. He was taken to the hospital, where he was treated and released.

Schulz was arrested Wednesday on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and disorderly conduct. Jail records do not list an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

Flag-wearing man throws Molotov cocktail into Austin Dems HQ

AUSTIN (AP) — An arson investigation was underway after a man wearing an American flag bandanna threw a Molotov cocktail into the headquarters of the county Democratic Party in Austin.

The incendiary device did not ignite when it was thrown at the Travis County Democratic Party headquarters at about 2 a.m. Wednesday, Austin Fire Capt. Brandon Jennings said. A small stack of papers was set on fire, but that was quickly put out by employees of a neighboring business using a fire extinguisher.

No one was in the office at the time, Travis County Democratic Party Chairwoman Katie Naranjo said, but the incident was caught on security cameras. A note was left with a politically motivated threat, Naranjo said.

“Anyone who wears an American flag as a bandana and then throws a Molotov cocktail ... into a building and leaves a note, a threatening note, is a coward,” she said.

Authorities did not release the contents of the note.