Dallas Co. DA recuses self from prosecuting Dominique Alexander

DALLAS - The Dallas County District Attorney has recused himself from prosecuting the felony aggravated assault case against Next Generation Action Network founder Dominique Alexander to avoid an appearance of any conflict of interest.

That's because Alexander campaigned for Dallas County District Attorney John Cruzeot.

Cruzeot's recusal was not the only development in this on Friday.

Late in the afternoon, Alexander's girlfriend spoke out on the case.

“These are things people go through every day, and not everyone has the courage to speak out,” said Keyaira Saunders, Alexander’s girlfriend.

MORE: Dallas activist Dominique Alexander arrested on family violence charges

Saunders did not want to talk specifically about the family violence charge against Alexander, but she did say that she’s doing okay.

“I want to let everyone know I am okay,” she said. “My family is okay. We are all sticking through this. This did not just happen to one person. whole family affected.”

According to an arrest affidavit, the aggravated assault began when Alexander's girlfriend came home from work and he was yelling at one of her children.

He then directed his anger at her, causing serious bodily injury to his girlfriend by shoving her into a piece of furniture, breaking a bone in her foot.

Alexander's anger has often been on display in public.

One example was last September, when a protest turned into chaos at a city council meeting.

Alexander has a long criminal history, including a felony conviction for injury to a child.

In 2016, he was arrested for traffic warrants after he disrupted a city council meeting two times.

But one year later, Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax appointed Alexander to a panel that provided input on the selection of a new police chief.

And other city leaders, including Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, have repeatedly tried to appease Alexander by trying to work with him, including during the creation of the recent Citizens Police Review Board.

Former Dallas County prosecutor Toby Shook says it is a wise move for newly elected DA John Cruezot to recuse his office from the case because Alexander recently campaigned for him.

“It would look bad if he had gone forward and the charges were rejected by the DA's office or no billed,” Shook said. “People would say, ‘Well, he worked on his campaign. He's doing a political favor for him.’ Would charge an ethics violation or possible criminal violation, and there might be an investigation.”

A judge will be in charge of appointing a special prosecutor who will act as the DA over Alexander's case.

All of the proceedings will still be held in Dallas County.