Musk’s X Joins Texas GOP Activist’s Fight Over Transgender Photo

X Corp. is supporting a legal fight of a GOP activist facing potential criminal charges for posting a photo of a transgender woman in the women’s restroom at the Texas Capitol.

Elon Musk’s social media company said it’s assisting Michelle Evans, a local Republican party chair in Texas, in asking all judges on the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to overturn the Dec. 9 decision of two judges that allowed a criminal investigation to continue.

“We look forward to the full Fifth Circuit correcting this wrong and preserving free speech, which is the foundation of American democracy,” X’s Global Government Affairs wrote in a post Monday morning.

Schaerr Jaffe LLP, which Musk has tapped as counsel to defend political speech in other First Amendment litigation, made an appearance in Evans’ case last week, court records show. Gene Schaerr and Edward Trent, both partners, and Justin Miller, an associate, will join Evans’ lawyer, Tony McDonald.

On Monday, the Fifth Circuit asked Evans’ opponent, Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza, to respond to her request for rehearing en banc by Jan. 8. Garza’s criminal investigation into the 2023 photo hasn’t resulted in charges.

“We’re excited to have their support,” McDonald said of Schaerr Jaffe. “This is an important First Amendment case. It’s great to have them in our corner.”

Wifredo Fernandez, X’s director of Global Government Affairs, didn’t respond to a request for comment on the specifics of its support for Evans’ case on Monday.

Schaerr Jaffe was Musk’s choice to represent actress Gina Carano in a suit alleging Walt Disney Co. wrote her off the “Star Wars” spin-off due to political posts the media company called antisemitic and transphobic. The firm with offices in Washington and San Francisco jumped in after Musk offered to provide legal representation for people who said they were fired over their posts on X.

Carano and Walt Disney ended the case in August, according to a court filing that didn’t include settlement terms.

Evans is asking the Fifth Circuit for relief from criminal charges after she shared a photo, taken by someone else, of a transgender woman washing her hands in a woman’s public restroom in 2023. The photo came during a legislative debate on a bill banning transgender medical care for minors.

In seeking an injunction, Evans argued that a state ban against taking someone’s photo in a bathroom without their consent doesn’t apply in her situation because the person in the photo was fully dressed and washing their hands at a sink.

She was denied twice—first by a trial court, and then by a split panel on the Fifth Circuit this month.

Fifth Circuit Judges Priscilla Richman and Irma Carrillo Ramirez declined to say the statute is unconstitutional as applied to Evans.

In a dissent, Judge Andrew Oldham argued the bathroom photo ban suppressed political speech because the woman photographed was a candidate for public office in Texas.

The case is Evans v. Garza, 5th Cir., No. 23-50541, 12/29/25.