Fake mailer warns of $500 fine for displaying O'Rourke signs, civil rights group says

Authored by statesman.com and submitted by Karma-Kosmonaut

A civil rights group is investigating reports of a fake mailer circulating in College Station that warns of a $500 fine for displaying signs supporting U.S. Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke.

The letter, recently obtained by the Texas Civil Rights Project, features a "CITATION WARNING," "quick facts about" O'Rourke and a "'BETO' REALITY CHECK" that includes the comments "NOT HISPANIC," "FELONY ARREST RECORD," "INSIDER TRADING VIOLATIONS," "FATHER'S DRUG SCANDAL" and "FAMILY BUSINESS FEDERALLY PROSECUTED," according to images of the letter the organization shared on social media Tuesday. The letter appears to end with "These issues have not been effectively reported to Texas voters."

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The envelope for the letter had a fake Austin return address, the organization's voting rights legal director, Beth Stevens, told the American-Statesman. It appears the letter was processed and sent through a post office in North Houston, she said.

"It's absolutely a voter suppression tactic," Stevens told the Statesman Tuesday.

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A spokeswoman for the Cruz campaign said it wasn't responsible for the mailer. O'Rourke's campaign declined to comment on the report.

Stevens said the organization has contacted the Texas secretary of state's office and might work with a law enforcement agency on the matter.

AvTheMarsupial on October 3rd, 2018 at 02:38 UTC »

tHe gOp rEsPeCtS ThE RuLe oF LaW!

PackAttacks on October 3rd, 2018 at 02:10 UTC »

Seems like whoever did this should be prosecuted. These republicans are a bunch of crooks.

Xendarq on October 3rd, 2018 at 02:10 UTC »

A spokeswoman for the Cruz campaign said it wasn’t responsible for the mailer.

Certainly smells like a Cruz maneuver. You can sense that creeping stench long before you see it.