Cecilia Castellano
A Democratic candidate for the Texas House on Monday dismissed as “nonsense” a state investigation into a vote harvesting scheme that led authorities to confiscate her phone and search the homes of a legislative aide and elderly Latino election volunteers.
Cecilia Castellano, who is running to succeed state Rep. Tracy King, D-Uvalde, made the remarks during a news conference that featured some of the South Texans who were served search warrants last week.
Latino civil rights leaders and state lawmakers also said on Monday they will ask the federal government and Texas Senate to investigate the raids.
League of United Latin American Citizens leaders have said authorities searched the homes of elderly Latino election volunteers pre-dawn with guns drawn and scant information about their probe. They have blasted the raids executed by Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office as an effort to intimidate Latino voters.
Without naming him, Castellano said the state’s top Republicans had publicly endorsed her opponent, former Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin Jr.
“Do not get distracted by this nonsense,” Castellano said. “Despite the challenges, I refuse to be silenced.”
[…]
LULAC officials plan to file formal complaints with the U.S. Justice Department, seeking a federal review of the state’s investigation and raids, said Gabriel Rosales, LULAC’s Texas state director.
“We didn’t break any law,” Rosales said. “All we did was go out there to increase the political participation of the Latino community.”
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, said he and another lawmaker planned to request a state inquiry from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Such a review is unlikely to be granted by Patrick, a staunch Republican who presides over the Senate.
See here for the background. It’s hard to imagine a valid need for armed pre-dawn raids on the homes of a bunch of elderly folks. What exactly were those DPS troopers expecting to find? One wonders where we might be now if one of the cops had shot someone, or if one of the targets had suffered a heart attack from the stress. I hope the Justice Department responds quickly and firmly, if only to ensure that this isn’t some half-assed fishing expedition. Reform Austin and the Current have more.
UPDATE: From Texas Public Radio.
[87-year-old LULAC member Lidia] Martinez said her LEE High School area home was raided not long after she woke up at 5:30 a.m. last Tuesday.
She said seven armed men and two armed women were at her home for hours searching and questioning her about voter registration, LULAC, and Medina.
She said she helps seniors register to vote or helps them with their mail-in ballots if they need it, but she did not do anything illegal. She said she does not fill anything in for anyone on voter forms.
“They questioned me for three hours,” she said. “At one point, they had me outside in front of all my neighbors while they searched the living room, and they never let me get dressed. It was just very embarrassing, intimidating harassment. They searched everything in my house.”
Shameful. I don’t care what you think you’re doing, there’s no call to treat an 87-year-old like that.
As others have pointed out in response to similar public displays of bullying, attempts at intimidation, and general thuggery, the cruelty IS the point.