Who sent fake transgender advocacy texts in Texas? Court records name GOP women’s group

New Texas court documents identify a Republican group as a client linked to text messages impersonating an LGBTQ+ advocacy group. The Republican Women’s Caucus Fund denies any involvement.

Travis County District Judge Jan Soifer ordered Infobip, a digital communications company whose platform was used to send the texts, to reveal the client behind the messages falsely attributed to the Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT). According to The Texas Tribune, the company identified John Braun and the Republican Women’s Caucus Fund as clients associated with the messages.

Related: Republican DA launches investigation to find culprit behind fake trans mailers in Texas

In a statement to the Tribune, the Republican Women’s Caucus Fund denied any involvement and said it was pursuing legal remedies.

“We did not authorize, fund, direct, coordinate, or participate in these activities in any capacity,” a spokesperson for the fund said. “We categorically reject these false allegations and are pursuing all available legal remedies to protect our organization and hold those responsible accountable.”

The texts in question began appearing on October 12, came from multiple numbers, and purported to offer guidance for students regarding gender-affirming care. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law in 2023 banning gender-affirming medical care for minors.

TENT previously told the Tribune it had received an onslaught of complaints about the texts, and the group immediately issued cease-and-desist letters to the texting service. “TENT has been met with an onslaught of hate and threats via our social media and email channels,” a spokesperson told the Tribune.

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The messages, which included a link to TENT’s website, appear to have gone out largely to Republicans ahead of the midterm elections, as GOP candidates in Texas have relied on anti-trans rhetoric to turn out conservative voters.

Beginning October 17, mailers from the Wyoming-based Texas Transgender Student Union addressed to “students” also arrived in mailboxes across the state. It is unclear whether the mailers and texts are connected. Soifer has also ordered a deposition of a representative of the Wyoming group, according to San Antonio news station KSAT.

Those mailers encouraged youth whose parents do not support their identities to speak to a “safe adult” or an advocacy group, naming TENT as an option and including photos of merchandise bearing the organization’s branding.

Related: Trans rights group heads to court over fake election mailers addressed to Texas children

The Wyoming group behind the mailers is represented by Chris Hilton, a former attorney in Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office who also served on Paxton’s impeachment defense team. TENT attorneys said more than 3 million pamphlets were mailed to voters in Texas, according to the news station. KSAT reported that the total number sent remains unknown.

Attorneys for the Texas Transgender Student Union have challenged the deposition order, arguing that it would violate the group’s First Amendment right to speak anonymously. In a court filing, they also said the group “has no plans to engage in any more communications like those at issue here.”

A West Texas prosecutor, Republican Sarah Stogner, has opened a criminal investigation into the mailers as a potential case of forgery.

“If this ends up being legal, it is everything that is wrong with our current political climate,” Stogner told the Tribune.