The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) has reportedly decided to request a federal investigation into the raids carried out by Attorney General Ken Paxton, which, according to the agency, were conducted "to suppress the Latino vote" ahead of the 2024 elections.
Paxton had called these raids an "ongoing election integrity investigation." However, Texas LULAC's state director Gabriel Rosales said the raids were made just 11 weeks before the elections "to suppress the Latino vote through intimidation and any means necessary to tilt the electoral process in favor of his political allies," Texas Tribune reported.
During one of the raids, the agents searched the home of Cecilia Castellano, a Democrat running for a state House seat, before confiscating her phone. Republicans view this seat as a key opportunity to gain control in the upcoming election.
Law enforcement also raided at least five other Latino homes that were working on Castellano's campaign. Rosales said three of them were members of Texas LULAC, a non-partisan, volunteer-based Hispanic civil rights organization based in Washington.
"But there's none that we've been privy to that merits an investigation like this that wastes taxpayers' money," Rosales said. "It is disgraceful and outrageous that the state of Texas, and its highest-ranking law enforcement officer is once again using the power of his office to instill fear in the hearts of community members who volunteer their time to promote civic engagement."
Last week, Paxton announced that his office carried out multiple search warrants in Frio, Atascosa, and Bexar counties as part of an investigation into alleged election fraud and vote harvesting during the 2022 elections.
The attorney general said there was "sufficient evidence" to get the search warrants after two years of investigating.
"Secure elections are the cornerstone of our republic," Paxton said. "We are completely committed to protecting the security of the ballot box and the integrity of every legal vote. This means ensuring accountability for anyone committing election crimes."
However, Paxton didn't mention the number of raids or specific reasons to search these specific homes.
Rosales pointed out that these raids were still very vague, which was really "unnerving." One of the persons whose house was raided said he was accused of possessing "illegal voter information," which he denied and said voter information was available to the public already.
Rosales further said that he was working with LULAC's national leaders and attorneys to prepare a formal complaint to request the U.S. Justice Department to investigate Paxton's raids.
The 2024 United States presidential election will be held in November this year.
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