Washington, DC — As America’s Voice has been highlighting, the ongoing standoff between Texas and the federal government over access to the southern border is causing right wing figures and Republican elected officials to escalate their dangerous incitement to violence and rebellion and their reliance on white nationalist conspiracies tied to multiple acts of domestic terrorism.
Yesterday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott continued the escalation, issuing a statement on “Texas’ constitutional right to self-defense,” that he called “the supreme law of the land,” while again claiming that the state is facing an “invasion” – the same deadly white nationalist conspiracy theory cited by the El Paso shooter who killed 23 people at a Walmart.
Leading legal observer Steve Vladeck assessed, “By this logic, states could use their own determination that an ‘invasion’ exists as a justification for usurping control of whichever federal policies they don’t like. Whatever you think about current immigration policy, this is just a 21st-century re-packaging of nullification.” And see this thread from attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick for more on why the “invasion” claim doesn’t hold up to legal scrutiny.
Beyond the merits of Texas’ legal theory, the threat emanating from the official embrace of the “invasion” conspiracy theory goes much deeper.
According to Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice:
“Governor Abbott isn’t just harmlessly playing constitutional cowboy, his vapid legal theory is a direct and immediate threat to public safety and our democracy. The official position of the State of Texas is to rely on a white nationalist conspiracy theory to stoke fear, ramp up vigilantism, and attempt to nullify federal law. The normalization of this conspiracy provides further fuel to the election deniers. Unfortunately, we know all too well where this escalating rhetoric and incitement can lead, as does Gov. Greg Abbott.
Following the deaths of 23 Texans at the hands of the El Paso shooter who cited an ‘invasion’ by ‘Mexicans,’ Gov. Abbott pledged to be more responsible, noting in 2019: ‘I emphasize the importance of making sure that rhetoric will not be used in any dangerous way.’ You are going back on your word, Gov. Abbott and you know it is dangerous. We cannot be desensitized to the continued escalation and incitement on display and the potential dangers.”
Resources and Background
- America’s Voice release: “Following SCOTUS Texas Border Ruling, Right Wing Escalates Dangerous Call to Arms,” with multiple examples
- America’s Voice blog: “Tucker Carlson Uses Social Media to Call for Vigilante Political Violence”
- America’s Voice blog: “Gov. Abbott Courts Border Militia Vigilantism Rooted in White Supremacy and Violence”
