Texas Attorney General raids homes of Latino civil rights group members, sparking a voting rights battle

This blog originally appeared at NBC NEWS.

The raids have sparked outrage and accusations of voter suppression in a state with a long history of discrimination against Mexican American citizens, a struggle that helped give rise to LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens).

SAN ANTONIO — Raids on the homes of several South Texas Democrats, as part of an election integrity investigation led by the state attorney general, have ignited a clash with the nation’s oldest Latino civil rights organization.

The August 20 raids focused on Manuel Medina, chair of the Tejano Democrats, along with several members of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), a state House candidate, and a local mayor.

The raids have sparked outrage and allegations of voter suppression in a state with a long history of discrimination against Mexican American citizens, a struggle that led to the founding of LULAC in 1929.

On Monday morning, LULAC leaders, state legislators, Latino activists, supporters, and some of the individuals whose homes were raided gathered outside the San Antonio office of Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, to protest.

“This is outright voter intimidation, and LULAC will fight for the right of every Latino to vote,” said Roman Palomares, LULAC’s national president.

A search warrant left with LULAC volunteer Lidia Martinez, 87, provided insight into the investigation. It authorized the seizure of all electronic devices, the opening of business-, organization-, and election-related documents, and DNA swabs. The search aimed to uncover evidence of vote harvesting and identity fraud violations under Texas election laws.

Medina’s home was also “forcibly entered” in the early hours of August 20. According to his attorney, officers woke Medina, his wife, and two young daughters, and spent seven hours searching the residence, including living spaces, closets, the kitchen, and family bedrooms. Officers seized 65 phones and 41 computers and storage devices, the attorney said.

Two Democratic consultants, unfamiliar with Medina’s business or the investigation, noted that election phone banking or canvassing operations can involve numerous phones and computers for volunteers.

Medina’s attorney successfully secured an injunction to prevent the attorney general or other officials from reviewing or disseminating the seized documents. A hearing on the search and seizures is scheduled for September 12.

Domingo Garcia, LULAC’s former president, also spoke at the protest, declaring, “There is no poll tax, no white-only primary. We will not go back.”

Attorney General Paxton, who announced the raids in a news release, has been vocal in promoting unfounded claims of voter fraud, particularly involving noncitizens. He recently claimed that President Biden brought people to the U.S. illegally to vote—a claim that has no supporting evidence.

Latino leaders are urging the Department of Justice to investigate the raids, which they allege are politically motivated attempts to suppress Latino votes. Gabriel Rosales, Texas state director of LULAC, called the actions “disgraceful” and accused Paxton of using his office to instill fear in Latino communities.

Cecilia Castellano, a state House candidate whose campaign Medina is working on, was also served a search warrant for her phone early in the morning. She believes the search was politically motivated and said other campaign volunteers had also been served warrants.

Lidia Martinez, a longtime LULAC volunteer, recounted her experience. Nine armed officers knocked on her door at 6 a.m., and while still in her nightgown, she was forced to sit in her dining room while the officers searched her home for four hours. Martinez was questioned about Medina and her involvement with LULAC, and officers left with her phone, laptop, voter registration cards, and other items.

Martinez said her family has urged her to stop volunteering for LULAC and helping with voter registration efforts out of fear she may be arrested.

Mary Ann Obregon, mayor of Dilley, Texas, also had her phone seized by officers who arrived at her home. She was emotional and in tears after the incident, feeling violated by the experience.