Texas nonprofit says it was impersonated in LGBTQ+ mailers. A judge cleared the way to find the sender

The blue and pink pamphlets began arriving in mailboxes across Texas around Saturday, October 17, just two days before early voting began on October 19. They were addressed to the student at each household.

“TEXAS TRANS & LGBTQ+ STUDENT RESOURCE GUIDE” was in bold on the front with intertwined hands underneath.

“Begin your journey,” another section of the pamphlet said, “with an organization trusted by students.”

But the Transgender Education Network of Texas, the nonprofit whose name is plastered throughout the brochure, forcefully denied it created or mailed the pamphlets.

Questions have arisen about who was behind the pamphlet, which quickly ignited a firestorm on social media with parents outraged that children were receiving controversial information.

Critics have argued it was a move to trigger conservative voters and drive them to the polls in a tight election. In historically red Texas, a state President Donald Trump won three times by double digits, Republican turnout is critical due to unusually competitive races at the top of the ticket.

“Texas voters are being deceptively targeted and tricked en masse,” TENT’s lawyer wrote in a court document.

The pamphlets included information about emancipating from parents and receiving gender affirming care out of state.

Inside were photographs from the TENT’s events and merchandise, including the nonprofit’s logo and “Trans Texas” branding. The return address was a Houston address nearly identical to TENT’s own address. Just one digit was removed.

Days earlier, text messages also using TENT’s likeness were sent out to phones across the state, according to court documents.

“Any and all materials are not affiliated with our organization and are impersonations,” TENT said in an update on their website.

A civil court judge in Texas ruled Tuesday that TENT can subpoena the LLC to find out who is behind the flyers, according to CNN affiliate WFAA . The nonprofit described the use of its organization’s name, materials, and branding as “unlawful” in a petition filed with the court last week.

Chris Hilton, an attorney for the LLC and former assistant attorney general in Ken Paxton’s office, argued before the judge Tuesday that the pamphlets should be considered free speech and disclosing the identity of those behind them would “cause harm,” according to WFAA. The judge denied the LLC’s attempt to dismiss the case.

CNN has reached out to Hilton for comment.

Paxton, the current Texas Attorney General, is running for Senate against Democrat James Talarico.

Since the pamphlets and texts went out, TENT said in a court document that its group has seen “an onslaught of hate and violent threats.” It had to deactivate its website, retain counsel and suspend normal programing.

Listed above the return address on the pamphlet was the name of another group — The Texas Transgender Student Union, an LLC that was registered in Wyoming just last month. CNN reached out to an email listed with the group’s paperwork to form the LLC.

Sarah Stogner, a Republican district attorney in West Texas, opened a criminal forgery investigation last week over the pamphlets.

“This is just potentially another day of dirty politics that, in this case, may have gone a step too far because now you’ve got real people in danger,” she told CNN. “The people that are mentioned in this brochure are having to shut down.

“There could be real potential violence incited because people who never would have known that these organizations existed are now thinking that these organizations are targeting them and sending them marketing material.”

Deborah Owens, a voter who identified herself as conservative Democrat from Collin County, said she didn’t receive the pamphlet at her house but she saw several people on social media who posted about it and read reports about the unknown senders.

“I think it’s kind of sickening that they would do something like that, potentially, because they know it strikes a chord with people,” she said.

It’s unclear how influential the pamphlet will be in terms of voter turnout, but several voters told CNN they wouldn’t be surprised if the pamphlets motivated conservatives to go vote.

Republicans are facing tougher-than-expected contests in Texas, with Trump campaigning in the Lone Star State Tuesday. Democrats are hoping to snap a 32-year statewide losing streak in the Senate and governor’s races.

“I think for most people it would trigger a response, especially conservatives,” said Cynthia Richardson of Richardson, Texas. “So, I mean, if it gets more conservatives out to vote, I’m all for it. Because a lot of Christians won’t go vote because they think politics is not part of being a Christian, and it really is.”

10 月 17 日星期六左右，也就是 10 月 19 日提前投票开始前两天，德克萨斯州各地的邮箱里开始陆续收到蓝色和粉色的宣传册。这些宣传册的收件人是每个家庭的学生。

封面上用粗体字写着“德克萨斯州跨性别及 LGBTQ+ 学生资源指南”，下方是交握的双手。

小册子的另一部分写道：“从学生信赖的组织开始你的旅程。”

但德克萨斯州跨性别教育网络（Transgender Education Network of Texas）——这个非营利组织的名字在小册子上随处可见——强烈否认自己制作或邮寄了这些小册子。

这份小册子的幕后推手是谁引发了人们的质疑，该小册子迅速在社交媒体上引发轩然大波，家长们愤怒地表示，孩子们正在接触有争议的信息。

批评人士认为，此举旨在激发保守派选民的投票热情，促使他们在选情胶着的选举中积极投票。在历来是共和党票仓的德克萨斯州，特朗普总统曾三次以两位数的优势赢得该州，由于总统候选人提名竞争异常激烈，共和党选民的投票率至关重要。

“德克萨斯州的选民正被大规模地以欺骗手段针对和蒙蔽，”TENT 的律师在一份法庭文件中写道。

这些小册子包含了有关脱离父母监护以及在州外接受性别肯定治疗的信息。

信封内有TENT活动和周边产品的照片，包括该非营利组织的标志和“Trans Texas”品牌标识。寄件地址是休斯顿的一个地址，与TENT的地址几乎完全相同，只少了一位数字。

根据法庭文件，几天前，全州各地的手机也收到了使用 TENT 头像的短信。

TENT在其网站的更新中表示：“所有材料均与我们组织无关，纯属冒充。”

据CNN附属电视台WFAA报道，德克萨斯州一名民事法庭法官周二裁定，TENT可以向这家有限责任公司发出传票，以查明传单背后的始作俑者。这家非营利组织在上周向法院提交的请愿书中称，有人非法使用其组织名称、材料和品牌标识。

据WFAA报道，代表这家有限责任公司的律师克里斯·希尔顿（Chris Hilton）周二在法庭上辩称，这些传单应被视为言论自由的范畴，披露传单背后的制作者身份会“造成伤害”。希尔顿曾任肯·帕克斯顿（Ken Paxton）办公室的助理司法部长。法官驳回了该公司提出的撤销此案的请求。

CNN已联系希尔顿酒店寻求置评。

现任德克萨斯州总检察长帕克斯顿正在竞选参议员，他的对手是民主党人詹姆斯·塔拉里科。

自传单和短信发出以来，TENT在一份法庭文件中表示，该组织遭受了“铺天盖地的仇恨和暴力威胁”。他们不得不关闭网站、聘请律师并暂停正常的活动。

宣传册上寄件地址上方列出的是另一个组织的名称——德克萨斯州跨性别学生联盟，这是一个上个月刚刚在怀俄明州注册的有限责任公司。CNN联系了该组织注册文件上列出的邮箱地址。

上周，德克萨斯州西部共和党地区检察官莎拉·斯托格纳对这些传单展开了刑事伪造调查。

“这可能又是一场肮脏的政治闹剧，但这次可能做得太过火了，因为现在真的有人身处险境，”她告诉CNN。“这份宣传册里提到的那些人不得不关门歇业。”

“这可能会引发真正的暴力事件，因为原本根本不知道这些组织存在的人现在认为这些组织正在针对他们，并向他们发送营销材料。”

来自科林县的保守派民主党选民黛博拉·欧文斯表示，她没有在家收到这份传单，但她在社交媒体上看到好几个人发布了相关信息，也读到了有关不明寄件人的报道。

“我觉得他们这样做有点令人作呕，或许是因为他们知道这会引起人们的共鸣，”她说。

目前还不清楚这本小册子对选民投票率的影响有多大，但几位选民告诉 CNN，如果这些小册子能激励保守派选民去投票，他们也不会感到惊讶。

共和党在德克萨斯州的选情比预期更为艰难，特朗普周二在该州展开竞选活动。民主党则希望终结该州在参议院和州长选举中长达32年的连败纪录。

“我认为这对大多数人来说都会引发反响，尤其是保守派人士，”来自德克萨斯州理查森市的辛西娅·理查森说道。“所以，我的意思是，如果它能让更多保守派人士出来投票，我绝对支持。因为很多基督徒不去投票，是因为他们认为政治与基督教无关，但实际上并非如此。”