The Smear That Started It All, Part 1
- Christian Schneider
- May 9
- 4 min read
-by Christian Schneider
I’ve spent the last six years in a legal battle I never expected— and never deserved.
It started with lies. It escalated into courtrooms. And somewhere in the middle, I lost my home, my career, and most of what I thought was stable in my life. But what I didn’t lose was the truth. And now, with one final shot to hold this system accountable, I’m ready to tell the story in full.
Because what happened to me didn’t just expose local corruption— it revealed how far institutions will go to protect themselves.
In 2018, I helped run a reform campaign for sheriff in Monterey County. We weren’t backed by a party machine or big money— just a group of people, many from inside law enforcement, who wanted to see a department plagued with secrecy and retaliation do better.
That was enough to make me a target.
It started with anonymous emails and social media posts. I later learned they were coming from inside the Sheriff’s Office— senior law enforcement officials, on duty, using County resources to launch a campaign of false allegations.
They claimed I had embezzled over $30,000 in union funds and laundered it through my consulting firm to finance the campaign. There was no evidence. No missing money. Just a coordinated narrative, designed to damage.
The smears escalated into full public statements, media plants, and pressure from political insiders. When the narrative began to fall apart, someone even called in a favor at the Attorney General’s Office to try to fabricate a formal investigation.
Reporters began calling me to say they’d heard I was going to be arrested.
I received threats. I was doxxed. They went after my mother on social media.
I filed official Internal Affairs complaints. They were buried.
The more they lied, the more they escalated.
So I took it to court.
And I won.
Trial court.
Appeals.
The California Supreme Court.
They tried the same tactics with the union itself— and lost again.
But that wasn’t the point.
The goal wasn’t to win in court— it was to punish me. To stretch the process over years. To drain my resources and my mental health. To make the experience so painful, so isolating, and so expensive that I’d stop fighting.
And all of it— every escalation— was funded by Monterey County taxpayers.
After years of fighting, the County finally lost in appeals. But by then, it had already indemnified the individuals involved and funded a multi-year anti-SLAPP motion arguing they were just “engaging in protected political speech.”
The lie was public. The defense was government-funded.
And when it finally collapsed? The County acted like it had nothing to do with any of it.
But now, finally, a small measure of accountability is catching up.
The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC)— California’s campaign finance watchdog— has reopened its investigation into how public funds were used in my case.
They’re looking into the County’s legal strategy.
The use of public contracts to fund what amounted to a personal vendetta.
And why connected law firms and consultants— including those with ties to Congressman Jimmy Panetta— were giving substantial discounts on legal fees during an election without filing them.
For the first time in years, it feels like someone in power is finally asking the right questions.
But to get answers, I need help staying in the fight.
And while I was being dragged through this nightmare, John Fickas— a longtime political consultant with deep ties to local campaigns— was still working on the Sheriff’s reelection effort and helping elect other officials endorsed by the same PAC.
Fickas had been reported to the Sheriff’s Office in October 2017 for predatory behavior. He wasn’t arrested until July 2019.
In that time, he remained active in campaigns and was protected by the same system trying to destroy me. In 2022, he pled guilty to raping and drugging minors. But when I was being falsely accused of financial crimes, Fickas was still walking around, advising public officials.
I wasn’t the threat.
I was the distraction.
The law firm retained to defend the County’s role in all of this? Fenton Keller— run by the brother of Congressman Jimmy Panetta. It’s not a firm known for cleaning up political scandals. But its selection raises eyebrows when you understand the connections: Panetta’s political circle included consultants directly tied to this entire saga— including Fickas himself.
These weren’t Trump-world operatives.
These were well-connected Democrats using the same playbook— weaponizing government resources and denying everything once caught.
This is what systemic rot looks like when it’s wearing a blue tie.
I’ve lost years of income. I was evicted. I’ve been diagnosed with PTSD. I’ve lived out of hotels. And yet I’m still here, because what happened can’t just fade into silence.
This is about more than a smear. It’s about the message that gets sent when a citizen speaks up and the full weight of local government comes crashing down to shut them up.
We need to change that message. We need people to know that standing up matters. That you can survive it. That truth is still worth defending, even when the cost is high.
I don’t want to be a symbol.
But I’ll be a spark if that’s what it takes.
Over the weekend, I watched someone raise over $500,000 online for going viral after using a racial slur against a child.
I’m not asking for that. I’m not asking for even a fraction of it.
But I am asking for enough to finish what I started— to stay alive, stay in this fight, and see it through. To bring real closure not just for myself, but for everyone who’s been harmed by this culture of silence and retaliation in Monterey County.
If you want this story to break through, I need your help.I’ve done everything I can to bring the truth forward.But I can’t do it alone.
And as surreal as this all may sound— this is just Part 1.
In Part 2, I’ll break down what was happening behind the scenes:
Tara Reade, testifying under a false name without credentials
Neil Kitchens, hit with six felonies after my complaint was ignored for months
Pete Hegseth, quietly settling a sexual assault allegation
Human rights abuses inside the jail
And the network of consultants, PACs, and cannabis cash tying them all together
These stories weren’t isolated.They were coordinated.
And they’ve gone unanswered for far too long.
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