Attorney General Anthony G. Brown joined a coalition of 16 attorneys general in urging the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to open a civil rights investigation into the recent raids by the Texas attorney general’s office that targeted Latino voting rights organizers, candidates for office, and volunteers, allegedly to investigate claims that they were registering noncitizens to vote.
The raids, conducted on August 20, 2024, were ordered by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and seized the personal property of local organizers and candidates for office. In a letter sent today, Attorney General Brown and the coalition urge DOJ to open an investigation into these raids, specifically into whether they constitute violations of civil rights, including the right to vote. “All voters, regardless of ethnicity or race, deserve to participate in free and fair elections without fear of targeted harassment,” said Attorney General Brown. “Intimidation and baseless accusations of voter fraud are dangerous tactics that undermine public trust and threaten the very foundation of our democracy. The Department of Justice must investigate whether the civil rights of these candidates, volunteers, and organizers were trampled for political gain.” In the letter, the coalition argue the Texas attorney general’s office sought to intimidate voters of color by conducting raids and seizing the property of organizers and Latino candidates. The coalition requests DOJ investigate the Texas raids to determine whether they constitute violations of civil rights, including the right to vote. There has never been evidence of widespread voter fraud anywhere in the United States, and by conducting these raids to search the homes of Latino candidates and voting rights activists, the coalition argues the Texas attorney general’s office is perpetuating a racist, baseless claim to intimidate voters of color.
In sending this letter to DOJ, Attorney General Brown joins the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia. Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Vermont.
Original source can be found here.