Texts show Rep. Tony Gonzales asked for ‘sexy pic’ from Regina Santos-aviles

Just after midnight on May 9, 2024, Rep. Tony Gonzales pressed an employee, regina santos-aviles, to send him a “sexy pic, ” and new disclosures have intensified scrutiny of the congressman as the episode is tied to the staffer’s later death. The exchange and a subsequent police report are now central to claims from her husband and attacks from Gonzales’ political opponent.

Regina Santos-aviles’ role and the May 9, 2024 texts

Gonzales, a married San Antonio Republican who represents the 23rd Congressional District, messaged Regina Santos-aviles—his district director in Uvalde—just after midnight on May 9, 2024, asking for a “sexy pic. ” When Santos-aviles pushed back and said the conversation had gone too far, Gonzales persisted and wrote that he was “just such a visual person. ” Those messages are part of the record that has been shared publicly in recent days.

Police report outlines why she set herself on fire and where she died

The police report in the case says Santos-aviles told responding officers that she set herself on fire because her husband was romantically involved with her best friend. The report states the couple had been estranged for several months after what a friend described to the detective as “Regina’s supposed affair” straining the relationship. Santos-aviles later died the next day at a hospital in San Antonio after the self-inflicted burns.

Husband Adrian Aviles shared messages and described ostracization

Her husband, Adrian Aviles, shared the text messages with a news outlet on Monday as evidence of an affair between the congressman and his staffer. Aviles told a local newspaper, which first published the texts, that the relationship and the professional ostracization his wife faced after it was discovered led her to become despondent before her death. The couple shared an 8-year-old son.

Gonzales’ public posture: denials, accusations and calls for a report

Gonzales did not respond to a request for comment. He told reporters in November that rumors of an affair between him and Santos-aviles were “completely untruthful. ” As more material has emerged over the last week, he has sidestepped direct denials, instead accusing Adrian Aviles of trying to blackmail him and blaming his opponent, Brandon Herrera, for politicizing the issue. Gonzales has also called for the full police report related to Santos-aviles’ death to be released; Uvalde officials provided the report to a news organization on Monday.

Political fallout with Brandon Herrera and the 23rd District campaign

The revelations come as Gonzales faces a difficult reelection fight in the 23rd Congressional District, the state’s largest district that stretches across the southwestern border and into San Antonio. His challenger, Brandon Herrera—a gun rights activist and YouTuber who nearly unseated Gonzales in 2024—has pressed the issue in ads and on social media, calling out what he described in one post as a “taxpayer funded affair with a married staffer, which led to her death by self-immolation. ” Herrera has said Gonzales should step down and has rebuffed the congressman as the contest heads into the upcoming primary.

Throughout the controversy, personal details tied to the principal figures have remained prominent: Gonzales is married with six children; Santos-aviles served as his district director in Uvalde and died in September 2025 after setting herself on fire. Questions about the scope of the relationship, the aftermath at the office and the role of political pressure remain part of the public record.