the nation's oldest Latino civil rights organization, LULACCBS News has learned that the organization is one of several targeted in a voter fraud raid led by state Attorney General Ken Paxton in Texas.
In a letter first obtained by CBS News, LULAC requested that the Justice Department investigate Paxton's office for violations of the Voting Rights Act. The organization is accusing Paxton's office of conducting illegal searches based on voter fraud.
“These actions are a reminder of the troubling history of voter suppression and intimidation that has long targeted Black and Latino communities, particularly in states like Texas, where demographic changes have rapidly altered the political landscape,” LULAC CEO Juan Proano and the group’s national president Roman Palomares said in the letter.
The Justice Department confirmed receipt of the letter and declined further comment.
Last week, Paxton’s office announced in a press release that it was conducting undercover operations and investigating reports alleging that certain organizations in Texas were illegally registering non-citizens to vote, in violation of state and federal law.
LULAC officials told CBS News that some Texas members of the group were targeted and their laptops and cell phones were seized after Texas authorities served search warrants. Some of the raids focused on Latino activists across the state.
“Attorney General Paxton is using his position to harass and intimidate Latino nonprofit organizations like LULAC, Latino leaders, and LULAC members,” LULAC CEO Juan Proaño told CBS News, calling the state AG’s effort a “straight-up” attempt to intimidate voters. “It’s clear from his pattern of lawsuits, raids, searches and seizures that he is trying to prevent Latinos from voting.”
Proano said one of the people targeted was 87-year-old Lydia Martinez, who lives in San Antonio. Martinez has been a member of LULAC for more than 35 years and works to expand voter registration among seniors and veterans in South Texas.
He said he got a knock on his door last Tuesday morning and was greeted by nine officers in tactical gear and firearms who said they were serving a search warrant. Martinez was questioned for more than three hours about his voter registration efforts in Texas.
According to Martinez, law enforcement officials confiscated Martinez's phone, computer, personal calendar, blank voter registration forms, and voter registration certificate.
Martinez condemned the raid during a press conference on Monday, saying, “This is a free country, this is not Russia.”
Manuel Medina, president of the Tejano Democrats, is another LULAC member who has been targeted, LULAC’s CEO said. Last Thursday, police in riot gear raided Medina’s home, who were armed and broke down his door, according to LULAC officials.
Paxton's office said in its press release that it will continue to conduct undercover operations led by its election integrity unit. The Texas AG's office said it received a referral from 81st Judicial District Attorney Audrey Lewis about “allegations of election fraud and vote harvesting that occurred during the 2022 elections.” The release said the two-year investigation “provided sufficient evidence to obtain a search warrant.”
This unit was created after Trump's government. 2020 election loss President Biden and targeted investigations into alleged voter fraud across the state, even though Trump administration officials said the election was rigged Safe,
“My office is investigating every credible report we receive about potential criminal activity that could compromise the integrity of our elections,” Paxton said. “The Biden-Harris administration has knowingly flooded our country with illegal aliens, and without proper safeguards, foreign nationals could unlawfully influence elections at the local, state, and national levels.”
Robert Legare contributed to this report.
Finn Gomez
