Robert Downen
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robertdownen.bsky.social
Robert Downen
@robertdownen.bsky.social
52K followers 3.8K following 1.4K posts
Texas Monthly writer focused on the far right, Christian nationalism and the billionaires funding them. Helped expose the Southern Baptist abuse crisis. Fan of Hip Hop and loud guitars. DAEAC#E evangelist. Send me good music.
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robertdownen.bsky.social
Vibe check: Here's how former Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan is reacting to the news.
a tweet from Dade Phelan showing a dumpster on fire being carried by flood waters
November 5, 2025 at 3:56 PM
robertdownen.bsky.social
How Christian Nationalist school board members in Texas campaigned vs. how they did
A campaign mailer with a photo of Satan, stating that "Secular Houston, with the Satanic Temple," endorsed Democrats in the upcoming CyFair ISD school board races. Lesley Guilmart, Cleveland Lane Jr. and Kendra Camarena — a slate of pro-public education candidates who support the separation of church and state in public schools — were elected to the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD school board on Tuesday, sending a strong message that residents of the third-largest district in Texas are rejecting far-right ideology in the classroom.
November 5, 2025 at 2:30 PM
robertdownen.bsky.social
Just some of the responses from Texas' elected officials:
Tweet from state Sen. Angela Paxton of 9/11: "I will never forget, but it looks like NY did!" Tweet from Congressman Brandon Gill: "America's largest city will be governed by a Muslim communist largely thanks to mass legal immigration." Tweet from Congressman Chip Roy, in which he responds with "Islam" to claim that "Islam just congquered New York City - and the GOP still wont say the word 'Islam;."
November 5, 2025 at 4:51 AM
robertdownen.bsky.social
Apologies - meant to say this district includes PARTS of Tarrant, including downtown Fort Worth and conservative suburbs such as Southlake.
November 5, 2025 at 3:53 AM
robertdownen.bsky.social
In Texas 9th SD, Democrat Taylor Rehmet is leading three candidates-including Leigh Wambsganss, a well-known Christian nationalist activist who was supported by Trump, Texas GOP leaders and far-right donor Tim Dunn. The district includes Tarrant County, a +5% Trump county + bellwether for the state.
Tarrant County results showing Rehmet leading Wamsganss and John Huffman with 44% of vote
November 5, 2025 at 3:22 AM
robertdownen.bsky.social
Support. Indie. Media.
The Trader Joe’s newspaper
November 4, 2025 at 12:39 AM
robertdownen.bsky.social
November 2, 2025 at 4:35 AM
robertdownen.bsky.social
Good news: I found it!
An article excerpt about Tim Dunn: In Midland he can do something about it - and has. Has he read the Left Behind books? "Yes, and they're worth thinking about. I particularly like the final scene in which Christ kills with words streaming from his mouth like a sword." Doesn't he fear that some of this may do more harm than good? "No," he says. "Remember. The Rapture will happen. It's only crude or cruel if it is wrong. St Paul is not wrong. We all know here that he is not wrong."
October 31, 2025 at 3:23 AM
robertdownen.bsky.social
...Nor did the ban do much. Barely a few months later, the Texas GOP's 2024 convention was an open call to Christian nationalism and "spiritual warfare" that was attended by some overt antisemites who were fired from Dunn's network after our reporting. Here's what one of them posted from the event:
Texas Tribune excerpt: Maulding has been particularly vocal about her support for Great Replacement Theory, a conspiracy theory that claims there is an intentional, often Jewish-driven, effort to replace white people through migration, LGBTQ+ acceptance or interracial marriage. Once a fringe, white nationalist worldview, experts say that Great Replacement Theory has been increasingly mainstreamed as Republican leaders, including some who spoke last week, continue to claim that migration is part of a coordinated effort to aid Democrats. The theory has also been cited by numerous mass shooters, including the gunman who murdered 22 Hispanic people at an El Paso WalMart in 2019. Five hours after Paxton and Patrick spoke, Maulding took to social media, posting a cartoon of a rabbi with the following text: “I make porn using your children and then make money distributing it under the banner of women’s rights while flooding your nation with demented lunatics who then rape your children.”
October 31, 2025 at 3:05 AM
robertdownen.bsky.social
Working on a much broader story about this now, but spoiler alert: Among those eventually charged was a little-known, 24-year-old Klansmen named Louis Beam. And if you don't know who Louis Beam is then, well....

www.nytimes.com/2021/01/26/u...
New York Times headline: Lone Wolves Connected Online: A History of Modern White Supremacy Forty years ago, Louis Beam had the idea of using the internet to drive a movement. Today, his vision is disturbingly prevalent.
October 30, 2025 at 9:48 PM
robertdownen.bsky.social
There is "badass journalism," and then there is this interview that a leftist Houston radio station did with the Grand Dragon of the Texas Ku Klux Klan, as police slowplayed investigations into a series of bombings of the radio station by...

[checks notes]

....the Texas Ku Klux Klan.
What motivated you? Well, you know, you seek out every organizat¬ ion in the United States that I thought was fight¬ ing communism, and the Klan was the only one that was really fighting. The rest of 'em was tip¬ ping their elbows drinking a good, cold beer. I joined them all. Then you came back here and you started the Klan in Houston? Here in Houston and around Texas. And you're the head of the Klan in Texas? I'm the head of the Klan in Texas. Which two are there no United Klansmen in? Well, I hesitate to say, but I think Alaska and Honolulu. What sort of things does the Klan do, in be¬ tween rallies, when you ’re not visible to the public view? We have regular meetings, yes, we do. And at these meetings we study the politicians, the politicians that are running this country, and we try to seek out the ones that are conservative minded, the ones that we think will better the peo¬ ple and better the government. We try to learn more about our government affairs and this is what the purpose of it is. You were quoted here in Houston as saying that there were United Klansmen in the police force, in the deputy's office. I made this statement that we had Klansmen in all portions of the city government. As working employees, not elected officials? Not elected officials, no. They sort of keep undercover? That's right. You see, the strength of the Klan lies in the secrecy of the Klan. You may be work¬ ing with a Klansman. For over two years we kept Klansmen working in the SDS. Here in Houston ? Here in Houston. We pulled them out, because we began to feel like their identity was going to begin to become known. We didn't want to create any friction but we did want to know what the SDS was working at. You said that Klansmen here are dedicated only to lawful activities. If that is the case, then why do Klansmen in city government or in the police force have to keep their identity unknown?
October 30, 2025 at 9:40 PM
robertdownen.bsky.social
The leader of the GOP in Tarrant County - Texas' third-largest county and the largest Republican-held county in America - has spent this week openly spewing racial slurs and mocking people who will lose access to food stamps on Nov. 1.
Tweets in which Tarrant County GOP chair Bo French says Nov. 1 is "National Chimp Out Day."
October 29, 2025 at 4:06 PM
robertdownen.bsky.social
Losing it at these COINTELPRO dispatches in which FBI agents discover the enduring Houston spirit to lean
A COINTELPRO dispatch in which the FBI's Houston division reports that New Left/SNCC activists like to "nightly imbibe in a combination of 'pot,' robitussin and wine from which concoction they reportedly get their 'kicks.'"
October 26, 2025 at 10:45 PM
robertdownen.bsky.social
I thought the photo on the left was fake. It’s real, and the military later claimed that the unit— of “scout snipers”— simply didn’t realize what they were associating with by posing with a Nazi SS flag.
A group of US Marine snipers posing with a Nazi SS flag and an American flag Article text on the reaction to the photo: The inspector general found there was no intent on the part of the Marines to identify themselves with the SS. An investigation found the symbol was meant to identify the Marines as scout snipers, but that it was still unacceptable, the Associated Press reported. "Certainly, the use of the 'SS runes' is not acceptable and Scout Snipers have been addressed concerning this issue," Marine Corps spokesman Capt Gregory Wolf told the BBC. The Marine Corps said that it explained to those involved that the symbol could be misinterpreted, and that use or display of the flag in future could result in punishment.
October 23, 2025 at 2:20 AM
robertdownen.bsky.social
Thoughts and prayers for the millennial FuseTV Emo kid who just googled “why was the LostProphets singer in jail”
A mugshot of Ian Watkins and a headline announcing his murder
October 11, 2025 at 9:15 PM
robertdownen.bsky.social
Citing the “martyrdom” of Charlie Kirk, Texas AG Ken Paxton says his office is pursuing sweeping undercover investigations into “leftist” groups. “To those demented souls who seek to kill, steal, and destroy our country, know this: you cannot hide, you cannot escape, and justice is coming."
"Leftist political terrorism is a clear and present danger. Corrupted ideologies like transgenderism and Antifa are a cancer on our culture and have unleashed their deranged and drugged-up foot soldiers on the American people," said Attorney General Paxton. "The martyrdom of Charlie Kirk marks a turning point in America. There can be no compromise with those who want us dead. To that end, I have directed my office to continue its efforts to identify, investigate, and infiltrate these leftist terror cells. To those demented souls who seek to kill, steal, and destroy our country, know this: you cannot hide, you cannot escape, and justice is coming." The radical Left has incubated an environment where political violence is not only justified but celebrated and praised. In July, nearly two dozen armed leftists connected to various Texas-based Antifa-like groups ambushed an Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") facility in Alvarado, Texas. On September 10, 2025, a leftist assassin connected to the radical transgender movement murdered Charlie Kirk because of Kirk's bold support for truth, love of country, and unshakable faith. Two weeks later, another deranged leftist opened fire at an ICE facility in Dallas. President Donald Trump has officially designated Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization and instructed his administration to "utilize all applicable authorities to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle any and all illegal operations — especially those involving terrorist actions — conducted by Antifa." Building on President Trump's bold actions, Attorney General Paxton has instructed his office to initiate sweeping investigations into radical leftist organizations engaged in or providing support to those performing political violence.
October 7, 2025 at 4:45 PM
robertdownen.bsky.social
“That’s cute.”
October 6, 2025 at 8:29 PM
robertdownen.bsky.social
To get a sense of where things stand: Here's an exchange from earlier this year, in which a Baptist minister was told by a Texas Senator that she didn't understand the Gospel because she cited Baptists' historic support for church-state separations as one reason to oppose the Ten Commandments bill.
Testifying this month against bills that would put more Christianity in Texas public schools, the Rev. Jody Harrison invoked the violent persecution of her Baptist forefathers by fellow Christians in colonial America. Harrison hoped the history lesson would remind Texas senators of Baptists’ strong support for church-state separations, and that weakening those protections would hurt people of all faiths. Instead, she was rebuked. “The Baptist doctrine is Christ-centered,” Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, responded sharply. “Its purpose is not to go around trying to defend this or that. It is to be a disciple and a witness for Christ. That includes the Ten Commandments. That’s prayer in schools. It is not a fight for separation between church and state.” Harrison was not allowed to reply, but in an interview said she was stunned that a lawmaker would question a core part of her faith. The exchange, she said, perfectly encapsulated why she has fought to preserve church-state separations — the same religious protections that Campbell said are a distraction from bills that might bring school kids to Christ. “It was a wake up call,” she said. “I don’t think people — even many churches — realize that this is going on right now, and that is alarming.”
October 5, 2025 at 11:40 PM
robertdownen.bsky.social
Meanwhile, the Texas Education Agency has approved new curriculum that teaches the Bible with K-12 lessons, despite expert testimony that the lessons completely misconstrue American history and whitewash racism, etc. Take, for example, the lessons on MLK's Letter from Birmingham Jail.
Meanwhile, Chancey said, the proposed instructions on religious liberty in the original colonies seem to be a “tremendous oversimplification,” failing to note the persecution faced by other religious groups, namely Quakers and early Baptists. Omitting that, he said, misses the real lesson to be learned from studying America’s early settlers: “The dangers of religious favoritism.” The proposed state textbook calls for excerpts of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” to be paired with the Biblical story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, whose defiance of the Babylonian leader Nebuchadnezzar is cited by King as an example of civil disobedience. And yet, the proposed curriculum does not appear to include any excerpts on the intended audience or a core theme of King’s letter: White moderates and clergy, whom King chastised for critiquing his civil disobedience while remaining “silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained glass windows.” Morath said the excerpt chosen is the one that would be appropriate for a fifth grader, based on their vocabulary and knowledge-level.
October 5, 2025 at 11:23 PM
robertdownen.bsky.social
The NSCA is led by a self-described "ex pirate" who claims God saved him from execution in a Mexican prison so that he could teach construction to the Contras and use school chaplains to convert kids. One of the Ed. Board members who appointed David Barton is also an NSCA board member.
“Would you let a Ex-Pirate, drug-smuggling pirate teach your kindergartner? Apparently, God would…” So reads the broken-grammar tagline for “Pirate School,” a short documentary-style film that tracks Malloy’s story beginning decades ago, when a friend asked if he wanted to help on a boat — apparently the origin story of his time as a pirate. The plan was to travel to an island, plant 25 pounds of marijuana seed and live like a “hermit,” reading from his “large, cathedral-sized white Bible.” “I needed to live the experience of the Bible,” Malloy says in the film, which is advertised on the school chaplain association’s website. “Jesus chose people of the sea.” According to that website, Malloy was living in Mexico when he was sentenced to life in prison for “conspiracy to over through the national government and international drug trafficking in a misguided attempt to help indigenous people” who were being persecuted for their religion. After 72 hours in prison — which Malloy notes is the same time it took Jesus to resurrect — he says he was freed by divine intervention, a sign that he had a “license from God.” He says he spent the next few years traveling around Central America before settling along the Honduras border, where he preached and taught “the dynamics of construction” to Nicaraguan Contras, the right-wing, CIA-backed rebels who fought the leftist government in one of the cold war’s bloody proxy fights. The violence, Malloy said in an email exchange with The Texas Tribune, made him want “to help children live better lives” and learn “the impact of loving, spiritual care.”
October 5, 2025 at 11:23 PM
robertdownen.bsky.social
David Barton, the widely ridiculed and perpetually corrected "amateur historian" who has mainstreamed the idea that church-state separation is a myth, will be advising the Texas State Board of Education on social studies curriculum.
September 24, 2025 at 4:30 PM
robertdownen.bsky.social
And this.
They despised and ridiculed Mel Gibson's movie. "The Passion," complaining that it is too"violent" and "anti-Semitic." Since when did Hollywood become concerned about "violence"? If "The Passion of the Christ" is anti-Semitic and will make viewers hate modern-day Jews, then w e had better censure "Schindler's List" in order to protect modern-day Germans!
September 24, 2025 at 4:21 AM
robertdownen.bsky.social
They read this out loud from the mainstage at the 2004 Southern Baptist Convention.
Excerpt of speech from Pastor Steve Gaines: "The essay is entitled "The Homosexual Manifesto." It was printed in a popular gay newspaper called Gay Community News on February 15, 1987, and was reprinted in the February 15-21 1987 Congressional Record. THI S ESSA Y is madness, a tragic, cruel fantasy, an eruption of inner rage, on ho w the oppressed desperately dream of being the oppressor. We shall sodomize your sons. We shall seduce them in your schools, dormitories, gymnasiums, locker rooms, sports arenas, seminaries, youth groups, movie theater bathrooms, bunkhouses, truck stops, all-male clubs, houses of Congress, wherever men awith men together. Your sons shall become our minions and do our bidding. They will brecast in our image. They will come to crave and adore us. Women, you cry for freedom. Yousay you are no longer satisfied with men; they make you unhappy. We, connoisseurs of thmasculine face, the masculine physique, shall take your men from you then. We will amusthem; we will instruct them; we will embrace them when they weep. We shall give your mepleasures they have never known because we are foremost men too and only man knows how to truly please another ma
September 24, 2025 at 4:18 AM
robertdownen.bsky.social
This guy would have loved 4Chan
Classified ad from the 1980s in which a man says he wants to contact members of the John Birch Society and "other interested conservatives who are alone or feel alone."
September 24, 2025 at 12:18 AM
robertdownen.bsky.social
The accelerationists sure seem energized today.
New York Times: The U.S. Capitol Police responded to a bomb threat today at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee that was deemed “not credible,” according to a party spokeswoman, and conducted a sweep of the interior out of “an abundance of caution.” The bomb threat comes after several historically Black colleges received threats today, a day after Charlie Kirk was shot dead. Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the Democratic minority leader, called the threats against historically Black colleges “despicable,” and said they indicated that “the explosion of hateful extremism is out of control.”
September 11, 2025 at 8:18 PM