NRH WATCHDOg

TODAY'S TOP STORY:

Local FOIA Warrior Accidentally Doxxes Himself During Transparency Crusade

Brent Vaught’s “radical honesty campaign” takes a turn after he posts his own Social Security number online, twice.

North Richland Hills —​
In a move described by cybersecurity experts as “a masterclass in public self-sabotage,” self-proclaimed transparency advocate Brent Vaught has reportedly fallen victim to identity theft after posting his own tax return screenshots during a late-night Facebook spree demanding government accountability.

Vaught, a former councilman and part-time conspiracy evangelist, uploaded 14 consecutive posts under the hashtag #NothingToHide, featuring screenshots of emails, utility bills, and, crucially, a full-page image of his 1040 form — complete with his Social Security number, home address, and routing information circled for “context.”

When commenters immediately pointed out the issue, Vaught doubled down, replying:

By morning, his bank accounts had been drained, his credit cards maxed, and someone had successfully applied for a Small Business Grant under the name “Brent’s Freedom of Information Lawn Care, LLC.”

A NIGHT OF OVERSHARING

The incident began late Thursday after Vaught’s “Unofficial City Council” was criticized for lack of results. In an effort to prove his commitment to openness, he reportedly began uploading every document he could find on his desktop under the caption “Full Disclosure Friday.”

The collection included:

• A scanned copy of his driver’s license.
• A selfie holding said license “to prove authenticity.”
• And an email to his bank titled “I Demand Transparency in My Account Limits.”

Witnesses say the stream of uploads lasted until 3:17 a.m., when Vaught paused briefly to accuse Mayor Jake of “hiding his own password history.”

THE AFTERMATH

By sunrise, Vaught’s phone began exploding with alerts — not from the city, but from his credit monitoring service, EquiSecureNowMaybe.
Within hours, someone had used his personal information to open accounts at three payday loan offices, rent a bounce house, and order $312 worth of “Freedom Flags” shipped to an address in Oklahoma.

When reporters asked how this could have happened, Vaught insisted,

He then announced a new initiative called “Transparency 2.0”, promising to upload the police report “for educational purposes.”

THE WATCHDOG WEIGHS IN

Blakie-Poo, founder of The NRH WatchDog, said the event marks “the first known case of self-inflicted data breach.”

“Brent’s the only man I’ve ever seen file a Freedom of Information request against himself,” Blakie-Poo said, shaking his head. “He’s living proof that radical transparency has a learning curve — and it’s vertical.”

He added, “At this point, the only secret Brent has left is his Netflix password, and even that’s probably in a post somewhere labeled ‘Proof of Integrity.’”

CITY REACTION

City Hall staff were reportedly warned by IT to change their passwords “just in case Brent’s transparency spreads.”
Mayor Jake, when reached for comment, said,

Meanwhile, members of Brent’s “Unofficial Council” have begun distancing themselves from the incident, with one member posting, “We support sunlight — not identity theft.”

THE FALLOUT AND ESCALATION

In a statement posted Friday afternoon, Vaught announced plans to “trace the hackers” personally, claiming he would “reverse-engineer the dark web using Microsoft Excel.”
Minutes later, he posted a screenshot of the alleged hacker’s email — which was actually a confirmation message from Credit Karma.

He followed that up with a triumphant declaration:

THE WATCHDOG CONCLUSION

Brent’s social media accounts have since been temporarily deactivated “for his own safety,” though he reportedly continues posting through a burner account called NRHTransparencyHeroOfficial.

The WatchDog will continue monitoring the situation — assuming Brent doesn’t release our passwords next.

For now, one thing’s certain:
North Richland Hills has many advocates for open government… but only one man brave enough to open literally everything.

Be Sure To Spread the Truth,
​Blakie-Poo, Your NRH WatchDog