Houston (CNN) Larry Woodruffe appeared in court Thursday, requesting a change of venue for his capital murder trial in the shooting death of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes.

At Woodruffe's preliminary hearing, his first court appearance on the murder charge, defense attorney Lisa Andrews cited several factors that she said necessitated moving the trial out of Harris County.

Among them: a slew of online "narratives" offering theories about the shooting, high-ranking police and public officials excoriating her client online and Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez eulogizing Jazmine at her funeral.

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Andrews described the latter as "posturing that's prohibiting my client from receiving a fair trial." The eulogy was a "heartwarming gesture," she said, but added, "Actions like that don't seem objective."

The social media posts with which she takes issue include a tweet from Houston Police Officers' Union President Joe Gamaldi showing Woodruffe holding a handgun and an assault-style weapon, and another calling Woodruffe a "dirtbag" and gang member. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the police union retweeted the dirtbag post.

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