CNN
—
A prominent Latino advocacy group on Monday called on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton after his office conducted a series of raids on the homes of Democratic activists and politicians last week over allegations of voter fraud.
In a letter to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the president and CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LCU) called on the federal agency to take “immediate action.”
“We believe his conduct represents a direct attempt to suppress the Latino vote through intimidation and harassment, in violation of the Voting Rights Act and other federal laws protecting civil rights,” LULAC President Roman Palomares and CEO Juan Proaño wrote in the letter.
So far, no charges have been filed as a result of the raids. Last week, Paxton’s office said search warrants were executed in Frio, Atascosa and Bexar counties as part of what his office described as an election integrity investigation stretching back to 2022.
In a press release last week, the Attorney General’s Office announced that its Election Integrity Unit had Referral from Audrey Louis, the district attorney for the state’s 81st Judicial District, concerning allegations of voter fraud and vote gerrymandering.
“Secure elections are the cornerstone of our republic,” Paxton said in the press release. “We were happy to help when the District Attorney referred this case to my office for investigation. We are firmly committed to protecting the security of the ballot box and the integrity of every legal vote. That means making sure anyone who commits voter fraud is held accountable.”
Neither Paxton’s office nor the prosecutor’s office responded to CNN’s requests for comment on the investigation and its details on Monday.
At a press conference Monday outside the attorney general’s office in San Antonio, LULAC members and Democratic activists condemned the raids and criticized Paxton for launching what they said was an intimidation campaign against Latino voters.
“Attorney General Paxton is using his position of power to harass and intimidate Latino nonprofits, Latino leaders and LULAC members,” Palomares said. “This is voter intimidation across the board, and LULAC will fight for the right of every Latino to exercise their right to vote.”
The homes searched included Democrat Cecilia Castellano, who is running for a seat in the state House of Representatives, as well as a 73-year-old woman and an 80-year-old woman, according to LULAC. Palomares said the homes of at least six LULAC members were searched, according to the Associated Press.
“You don’t go against our grandmothers. You don’t go against our great-grandmothers,” said Domingo Garcia, another LULAC leader. “And you don’t go against them because they just want to vote.”
Castellano told CNN’s Laura Coates on Monday night that her phone was confiscated during the search of her apartment.
“I was shocked. I’m still shocked. … I’m even angrier because my son was just a few feet away,” Castellano said.
Lidia Martinez, an 87-year-old activist and LULAC member who has long helped with voter registration, told reporters at Monday’s news conference that armed officers from Paxton’s office showed up at her home at dawn on Aug. 20 with a search warrant. She said they told her the search was related to fraud and interrogated her for three hours. She said they also forced her to stand outside in her front yard still in her nightgown.
“It was just embarrassing, intimidating (and) harassing,” she said, becoming increasingly emotional. “They searched everything in my house.”
She said she was questioned about other LULAC members and described the search as a “Gestapo-like” raid. Her devices, personal calendar and voter registration documents were confiscated, according to LULAC.
“I’m not doing anything illegal. I follow the rules of the election office and I’ve never done anything illegal, whether it’s voter registration or mail-in voting or any of the things they’re looking for,” she said. “I don’t know who’s doing this. And, and I don’t want to know; I have no connection with them. I’m not guilty, but I’m being harassed. I’m sick.”
In the letter to the federal government, LULAC argued that the recent raids reflected a broader pattern of voter intimidation in Latino and black communities.
“Attorney General Paxton’s actions are not isolated incidents, but part of a concerted effort to suppress the growing political power of minority communities in Texas,” the letter said. “These actions are reminiscent of previous attempts to intimidate and disenfranchise voters through fear and coercion.”
