Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Friday he's taking "legal action" against a Houston-area anti-fascist group that's posted personal information of alleged neo-Nazis and members of other far-right movements online.
Paxton accused the Screwston Anti-Fascist Committee, an "Antifa-affiliated" nonprofit, of potentially violating state law by aiding in the commission of terrorism and "doxing," or publishing a person's private information online with malicious intent.
The attorney general issued a legal demand for records and documents to identify any potential violations of law.
“Radical leftists have engaged in coordinated efforts to militantly attack our nation and undermine the rule of law," Paxton said in the release. "Screwston and related groups have illegally doxed Texans and encouraged violent terrorism against fellow citizens. These deranged traitors will face the full force of law. No stone will be left unturned, and no tool will be left unused.”
KERA News reached out to the AG's office and the Screwston Anti-Fascist Committee for comment and will update this story with any response.
According to the "About" section of the group's blog, the committee was formed in 2016 and is dedicated to "building resistance to fascism and the far-right in Houston, Texas."
The committee dedicates a section of its blog to highlighting "local fascists," generally people associated with far-right and neo-Nazi groups in Texas. The blog links to separate sites that list the personal information of those individuals, including their full name, date of birth, address and vehicle information.
Among the groups referenced on their site is Patriot Front, which the George Washington University Program on Extremism describes as a white nationalist and fascist organization founded in the wake of the 2017 Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally. Photos on the site show people in Nazi-associated tattoos and iconography.
The Screwston committee also sells merchandise with messages like "Antifa Zone, refugees welcome" and "Make Racists Afraid."
Paxton's office also said reported members of Screwston affiliates participated in the July 4 demonstration at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado that resulted in a shooting that injured a local police officer. His office did not provide evidence for those claims.
Since July, the Screwston Anti-Fascist Committee has helped raise money for legal fees and living expenses for the now 19 people arrested in connection with the shooting, working with the DFW Support Committee, a group comprised of the defendants' family, friends and supporters.
Nine defendants in the case will go to trial in Fort Worth federal court Feb. 17 in what government officials call the first federal prosecution of members of "antifa," short for anti-fascist. Although there is no central organization or membership, President Donald Trump declared the movement a domestic terror threat last year, prompting questions about the process of prosecuting those associated with the ideology.
Prosecutors accuse those arrested of playing a wide range of alleged roles in the events leading up to the Prairieland shooting, whether they allegedly attended the demonstration at Prairieland or participated in group chats planning it. The defendants face a mix of federal and state charges, including attempted murder of federal agents and providing material support to terrorists. Seven defendants have pleaded guilty.
The attorney general's legal action against Screwston also comes after he announced in October his office would be launching undercover investigations into alleged left-wing violence in the state, citing the Alvarado shooting and the September shooting at a Dallas ICE field office as motivation.
Toluwani Osibamowo is KERA’s law and justice reporter. Got a tip? Email Toluwani at tosibamowo@kera.org.
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