Still Messing with Texas: Support Organizers Targeted by the State and Far-Right

Statement from the International Antifascist Defense Fund on the ongoing repression of community organizers in Texas.

You might recall a certain degree of hysteria and pearl-clutching among right-wing media pundits when they found out that their cherished 2nd Amendment rights also applied to anti-fascists. This became abundantly clear to them when pistol-packing transphobes intent on disrupting a drag show in Texas and possibly making good on their threats to murder the attendees were stopped in their tracks by the presence of the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club.

Of course, transphobes and their police pals couldn’t allow for such a thing. Attack #1 against the EFJBGC came in the form of bullshit arrests by the cops of three EFJBGC members (of course, the Defence Fund helped pay for their legal defense costs). Now, attack #2 has come in the form of a lawsuit filed by the “New Columbia Movement” (a self-described “Christian fascist fraternity” that seeks to forcibly convert everyone to Christianity, among other things), against two of the arrestees on the basis that their rights were violated when they were unable to physically attack attendees at the drag show! So now our friends have to deal with the costs and hassle of unjustified criminal charges and a vexatious lawsuit.

Our friends have set up crowdfunders to help them with this expenses here and also here. They also reached out to us directly for support, which we were more than happy to provide, because we believe that drag shows are a form of free expression that shouldn’t be shut down by death threats from bigots, just as we believe that the believe we need to have the backs of those who put themselves on the line to prevent those threats from being carried out. If you believe the same, hit those crowdfunding links! If you believe there’s a need for a standing fund to provide emergency support to anti-fascists in situations like what’s been described here, make a contribution to the Defence Fund today!