Tag: texas

Texas Orders Discord to Run UK-Style Age Checks for State Users

A Texas court has ordered Discord to turn on the age-verification system it built for the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act for every user in the state. Britain’s age-check regime has reached America by court order, and opening or keeping a Discord account in Texas can now mean a face scan or a government ID.

The agreed temporary injunction, signed by a Collin County judge, gives Discord 90 days to extend its age-assurance and default settings to Texas.

We obtained a copy of the temporary injunction for you here.

The company can still ask the court for more time if it shows the deadline is not feasible. Discord must serve the Texas Attorney General’s Office a confidential progress report every 30 days until it complies, and the order binds the company until final judgment, enforceable by contempt. The order lets Discord identify Texas users from data it already holds rather than gather new categories of personal information.

Today a Texan opens an account with an email address and a self-reported birthday, nothing more. The injunction imports that system instead. By Discord’s own published account, more than 90 percent of users are never asked to confirm their age, facial age estimation runs on the user’s own phone, and identity documents go to a third-party vendor rather than to Discord. The reassurance holds only for the users the system never questions. For everyone else, the account now comes with a face scan or a government ID handed to an outside company.

Under the order, Discord must route messages from strangers into a separate request inbox and block sensitive content for Texas teens unless it confirms the user is an adult. It must also close adult-only spaces to anyone it has not age-assured, according to the attorney general’s office. The state says these are the protections Discord already gives British children under the Online Safety Act and withheld from Texas.

Texas’s expert told the court that extending Discord’s existing safety features to the state was “just a matter of turning it on for Texas.” Discord runs the age-assurance system in the UK, Australia, and Brazil, its witnesses testified. In Texas the company still relies on a self-reported birthday at signup, a fact it did not dispute for the order.

Discord announced in February 2026 that it would roll its protections out worldwide, with the US launch only weeks away. Then it pulled back, telling the public the rollout would wait until the second half of 2026.

Attorney General Ken Paxton called the ruling a historic victory. “Discord built a platform where adult predators could hunt Texas children, then looked parents in the eye and told them it was safe,” he said in a statement. His office says Discord submitted 489,782 reports of suspected child sexual exploitation to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in 2025, more than 1,300 a day. Under cross-examination, Discord’s lawyers drew out that those reports largely amount to the company flagging crimes it finds on its own platform and passing them to the center.

New Jersey sued before Texas did, and Nevada, Indiana, and Arkansas have taken their own legal action. Texas filed on May 22, 2026, and won a restraining order within weeks. The case heads to a trial on the merits set for June 2027, where the state will seek civil penalties under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which can reach $10,000 per violation.

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PIPE DREAM: Lawyers for Karmelo Anthony Seek New Trial, Alleging Bias From the Judge and Other Issues

Defense attorneys for Karmelo Anthony, who was found guilty of murdering Austin Metcalf by stabbing him to death at a school sporting event, are seeking a new trial for their client, alleging bias from the judge in the case, unclear instructions given to the jury, and a host of other issues.

To be clear, this is not an appeal. These lawyers are seeking a whole new trial for Anthony. The request is likely to be denied.

There is going to be a hearing on this in August.

FOX 4 in Texas reports:

Hearings are set for next month as Karmelo Anthony seeks a new trial, six weeks after he was sentenced to prison for the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf at a Frisco track meet stabbing.

What we know: Anthony’s legal team is seeking a new trial over claims that the trial was effectively closed to the public, that prosecutors did not honor an off-the-record evidentiary agreement, and that instructions to the jury made it difficult for them to consider Anthony acted in self-defense.

They also asked for Judge John Roach to be removed from post-trial hearings because of his alleged bias.

In court filings, Anthony’s lawyers said the judge made comments to news reporters following the trial and “expressed personal opinions about the propriety and correctness of the jury’s verdict, the fairness of the trial and the correctness of the judge’s own rulings during the trial.”

When a reporter asked Roach if the jury got it right, he responded, “Yeah, they did.” The judge then reportedly explained himself and talked about his rulings.

The defense argued that the judge’s personal views suggest his probable decision on a motion for a new trial.

Again, this strategy is very unlikely to work.

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Judge Denies Immunity to Texas Cops in Meme Arrest Case

A federal judge has refused to throw out the civil rights lawsuit filed by a Texas journalist arrested over a satirical Facebook meme and declined to grant qualified immunity to the sheriff and investigator who put him in jail.

Chief US District Judge Reed O’Connor ruled on July 20 that Kolton Krottinger’s suit can move forward against Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds and former deputy James Luckie.

We obtained a copy of the ruling for you here.

O’Connor wrote that Krottinger “sufficiently alleged that Luckie and Sheriff Deeds violated his clearly established rights to be free from arrest without probable cause, malicious prosecution, and First Amendment Retaliation.”

The ruling keeps alive claims of First Amendment retaliation, unlawful arrest, malicious prosecution, and Fourth Amendment violations.

Qualified immunity shields officers from suit unless they broke rights already clearly established in law, and it ends most cases of this kind before they reach discovery. O’Connor found that Krottinger cleared that bar.

Krottinger, a 36-year-old Navy veteran, runs several Hood County news pages on Facebook and a nonprofit, Anxiety Solutions of America, that operates a 21-acre ranch for veterans and first responders. Governor Greg Abbott named him an honorary admiral of the Texas Navy in January 2025.

His arrest traces to a satire image posted to a satirical page called Hood County Sheepdogs during a Granbury school board race. The meme made it look as though Tina Brown, a regular speaker at county commissioners’ meetings, had endorsed a candidate she actually opposed. Brown reported the post on October 6, saying she had not made it.

C.J. Grisham, a First Amendment attorney representing Krottinger, said the meme was meant “to poke fun at the two people who can’t stand each other…endorsing that person. That’s the joke of it.”

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Another One: Jasmine Crockett Goes on Unhinged Screaming Rant About ICE and White People – “Ya’ll Knew it Was Coming. It’s Just Racist, Racist, Racist… What This is About is Whiteness”

Racist Texas Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett began screaming about White “colonizers,” ICE, and the Trump Administration during a House Judiciary Committee Hearing on Tuesday in typical fashion. 

During the hearing on the “Permanent Trump Secure Border Act,” which would codify President Trump’s immigration policies before the midterm elections, the outgoing Congresswoman lost it.

Crockett even acknowledged her history of insane race-baiting and anti-White hate, at one point telling her colleagues, “y’all knew it was coming, especially once I showed up” before her unhinged rant.

She began by railing against ICE detention centers in warehouses that hold thousands of illegals.

“But let’s talk about what this is really about,” she continued. “and I know y’all knew it was coming, especially once I showed up: It’s racist. It’s just racist, racist, racist!”

“Okay, now let me tell you why it is racist. All right, this ain’t about whether or not you’re concerned that the immigrant is coming in and the immigrant is gonna kill everybody. That is not what it is. It’s not,” Crockett said.

“It’s the things like what your fearless leader said when he said they’re poisoning the blood, okay? What this is about is racism!”

Crockett then decried Trump for plans to allow White South African refugees, fleeing persecution, into the country.

“Let me just be clear: your president, he is the one that said white South African refugees needed their own program, and so therefore he decided that he would raise the cap on how many refugees could come into the United States, but it was only raised for white South Africans. The administration set a limit of 17,500 slots planned to admit more white South Africans as refugees this year,” she said.

Crockett further slammed ICE agents, calling them “completely incompetent” who don’t “know how to do the daggone job,” accusing them of “specifically targeting people because of how they look.”

Then, it was back to attacking White people for existing, screaming, and suggesting that they should be deported.

“The people that were here are the indigenous folk, and you know who ICE been rounding up? They’ve been rounding up indigenous people, the people that originally came, not the colonizers, but the original people,” Crockett shouted.

She continued, screaming, “So, what this is about is whiteness. Everything that this administration has pushed has been about white supremacy, your fear. In fact, you say things like, ‘Oh, you just want them to come in so that they will vote for you,’ because we know that when you look at the numbers, I mean, I’m just being real with this, but white people, they not the ones that carry the Democrats. They aren’t. And so this is literally about you say things, you tell on yourselves, you believe that somehow they will become citizens and they will start voting in the interest of equity. Those are the things you fight against when you say no diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

Crockett further excused the crime committed by the minority population, saying, “You want to sit up here and act like the crime is being perpetrated by people of color, but the statistics say otherwise. If you look at the real numbers… anybody can commit a crime on any given day.” It is unclear if she was suggesting that Whites commit more crimes per capita (untrue) or if she was just saying that Whites commit crimes too.

“I know that y’all believe in propaganda, and y’all don’t want people to know the truth, and y’all definitely don’t want them to know history, because then you gotta again acknowledge colonizing,” she said.

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Huh? Jasmine Crockett Says Rooting For Spanish Team in World Cup Final Was Racist, Calls Hearing on Smithsonian’s Left-Wing Bias a “White Pride Rally”

Rep. Jasmine Crockett put her anti-White rage on full display during a House Oversight Committee Hearing on Tuesday, where the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency probed the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History over its left-wing bias and rewriting of history. 

At one point, the low-IQ Congresswoman even claimed that the Spanish soccer team has more fans than the Argentine soccer team because of “racist history that exists as it relates to Argentina.” This was right after she suggested that “White supremacists” can’t read.

The hearing came after a report from the White House Domestic Policy Council revealed that the museum has perverted American history and engaged in anti-White activism, pro-illegal alien activism, and transgender activism to reframe our country’s history through a left-wing viewpoint in its programming.

But Crockett acted like it was an attack on minorities, specifically blacks and American Indians.

“Welcome to the Republicans’ White pride rally disguised as a congressional hearing,” Crockett said to begin her time for questioning witnesses, suggesting that Republicans are uncomfortable hearing about US history. She went on to rail against America’s past, perpetrated by the Democratic Party.

“Facts are facts, and it’s a fact that there is a violent, exclusionary, discriminatory, sexist, and racist part of American history, where our indigenous populations were forcibly displaced from their land, where thousands of Black people were unjustly lynched, where Black people were denied the right to vote,” Crockett said, claiming, “they still trying to do it today.”

She continued, “where women needed their husbands’ permission to open a bank account, where people with disabilities were routinely excluded from schools, workplaces, and public life, where four little Black girls were murdered by the KKK at the 16th Street Baptist Church, and a lot of this wasn’t that long ago.”

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Al Green: Trump Will Be Impeached for His ‘Dastardly’ Violations of the Law

Tuesday on CSPAN’s “Washington Journal,” Rep. Al Green (D-TX) said he will bring articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump for his “dastardly unconstitutional violations of the law.”

Green said, “How  can continue to impose this fraud, this Ponzi scheme, on people such that he makes, hundreds of millions at the expense of other people who buy into his Ponzi scheme? He’s more concerned about that than the lives that are being lost. And, yes, I lived through Jim Crow. I went to the back door. I drank from colored water fountains. I had to sit in the back of the bus. Yes, I can see us unfortunately regressing. I can see us moving in the wrong direction. And when you start making people suspect because of how they look, you’re moving in the wrong direction, and you are moving toward Jim Crow. But let me say this to you, sir. Worry not. Al Green will bring articles of impeachment within a very short period of time against this president for his dastardly unconstitutional violations of the law. We call it high crimes and misdemeanors. They will be brought.”

Addressing the host, Green added, “I will now ask for the opportunity to return to your program, and I have those and hand them to you personally, and we will discuss them.”

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Finally! Court Rules Texas Can Bar Illegals From Getting In-State Tuition

As reported many times here at The Gateway Pundit, many schools have offered in-state tuition to illegal aliens in violation of federal law.

Now, according to The College Fix ,”Texas can continue to prohibit illegal immigrants from receiving in-state tuition rates at public universities, a federal court affirmed.”

“The ruling last Thursday by a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upholds an agreement between Trump administration and Texas, which ended the Lone Star State’s program. Federal law prohibits illegal immigrants from receiving better tuition rates than out-of-state American citizens.”

Surprisingly, illegal aliens, even in Texas, have been getting better rates of tuition than other Americans from out of state.

This law fell apart following a lawsuit. “Texas quickly settled as part of a coordinated effort with the Department of Justice.”

The Trump administration has targeted these laws, which give tuition breaks to illegals in both red and blue states.

It is clearly wrong to give lawbreakers an advantage over law-abiding American citizens.

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‘Not simply another community bank’: Critics sound alarm over new Indian bank in Texas

The State Bank of India has announced it is opening a new branch in Frisco, Texas, with critics raising concerns about Indian workers sending remittances back to India with minimal fees.

The branch is expected to open in mid-September and will be located off Coit Road.

The Indian population in the Dallas-Fort Worth area is estimated at about 230,000, with many being in the U.S. on H-1B visas. The population increased by 20% from 2020 to 2024 as the federal government continued approving H-1B visas.

The bank’s website states that customers can send remittances—money foreign workers send back to their home countries—with zero transfer fees.

Online customers can send up to $50,000 per day, while mobile customers can send up to $25,000 per day, according to the bank’s website. There is no stated limit for remittances sent from a branch. The bank specializes in remittance services to India and Bangladesh.

Employees at the bank speak multiple languages, including English, Hindi, Punjabi, and other Indian languages.

State Bank of India is headquartered in Los Angeles and has multiple branches across California. The institution is also backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which insures deposits of up to $250,000 per depositor.

The new Frisco location has drawn criticism from those who say the services could be used to evade American laws.

According to an article by Ammon Blair, a senior fellow with the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Secure & Sovereign Nation Initiative, the United States is losing at least $200 billion annually from remittances leaving the domestic economy and supporting foreign economies.

“Through the lens of gray-zone conflict, remittances are not neutral financial transfers. They function as an asymmetric economic weapon, weakening U.S. labor markets, eroding the rule of law, and stabilizing regimes that act contrary to American interests. In gray-zone conflict, the rule of law itself becomes contested terrain,” Blair wrote.

Blair also told the Daily Signal that the bank is bringing the remittance issue directly to Texas.

“This is not simply another community bank entering a growing suburb,” Blair said. “SBI California is a subsidiary of State Bank of India, which is controlled by the Indian government.”

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Video Shows Fort Worth Cop Ticketing a Preacher for ‘Offensive’ Speech at Pride Event

A Fort Worth Police officer ticketed a preacher in late June, claiming the content of his speech was offensive. This week the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division launched an inquiry into the incident to determine if the officer violated the First Amendment.

The widely circulated video of the confrontation shows an officer and a protester during the Trinity Pride Fest on June 27. “If someone is offended by your talking, then we have a problem,” said Officer Sara Stogner.

“That’s a constitutional violation of our rights,” responds David Grisham, a street preacher and retired federal law enforcement officer. The two continue to argue when Stogner asserts, “OK, then I’ll write you the ticket, and we’ll go from there.”

“Wait, you’re going to ticket us for offensive speech?” the cameraman asks incredulously. To which the officer confidently responds, “Yes, absolutely.”

Stogner continues to claim she can ticket the two men for disorderly conduct “if someone complains that your language or what you’re saying is offensive.”  

But that’s not how the First Amendment works, according to legal experts. “The First Amendment does not allow government officials to shut down speech simply on account of it being ‘offensive,'” said Brennan VanderVeen, program counsel at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. “The government can restrict certain types of conduct or restrict noise above a certain volume level,” he continued, but citing someone because people are offended by the content of protected speech is “precisely what the First Amendment does not allow.” 

Grisham was ultimately cited for misuse of a bullhorn during a protest, a citation he argues isn’t supported by the city’s noise ordinance, reports WFAA, an ABC News affiliate. Grisham’s civil rights attorneys announced on July 3 their intent to challenge the citation, arguing Stogner failed to issue a decibel check in accordance with the city’s noise ordinance and Texas code, which presumes an unreasonable noise to be in excess of 85, and instead cited Grisham for “engaging in peaceful and protected speech.” 

In response to growing online backlash, Fort Worth Police Chief Eddie Garcia told WFAA on Monday that his department takes responsibility and is currently instituting department-wide First Amendment training. “We just trained up our command staff again with refresher courses. We’re going to be training our sergeants. We’re going to be training our officers,” said Garcia. “We are not a perfect profession,” he continued, “and officers will make mistakes from time to time.” Garcia did not mention any ways in which Stogner would be held personally accountable or liable. 

“Actively training police officers around First Amendment standards would be a positive step,” said VanderVeen, who added that “government officials being unaware of basic First Amendment standards is a persistent problem.” 

So much so, it seems, the Justice Department is also looking into the incident and has asked the Fort Worth city attorney for information to help the agency determine if an investigation is necessary, reports Fox News. “The Civil Rights Division is committed to ensuring all Americans—regardless of the content or viewpoint of their speech—are protected from unlawful restrictions on expressive activity,” wrote Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon.

The City of Fort Worth, Texas, has 30 days to provide the DOJ with further information.

The Justice Department is right to ensure Grisham’s freedom of speech has not been infringed, and doing so is consistent with the agency’s core mission to protect civil rights. But the move stands out against a backdrop of the agency’s alleged First Amendment violations since President Donald Trump took office, including subpoenaing journalists, coercing social media companies to remove immigration officer tracking apps, and attempting to unmask anonymous online critics. 

But for now, Americans can rest assured that the Justice Department can still do the right thing every once in a while.

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“Not Seen Since World War II”: New Texas Shipyard To Hire 10,000 Workers And Mass-Produce Drone Boats

Building on our coverage of autonomous maritime warfare this week, Saronic Technologies is preparing to build a massive shipyard on the Texas coast capable of producing autonomous surface vessels at scale, a project expected to create more than 10,000 jobs.

Bloomberg reports that the Austin-based technology company, which specializes in maritime drones, is building a $3.2 billion shipyard at the Port of Brownsville on the Texas coast. The facility will manufacture medium- and large-class autonomous vessels.

Earlier this week, the US military used Saronic’s Corsair one-way attack vessels in a swarm strike against a submarine and ship-maintenance facility at Iran’s Bandar Abbas naval base.

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