Thousands if not millions of families in Texas recently received a pamphlet in the mail titled "Texas Trans and LGBTQ+ Student Resource Guide," seemingly providing information to trans-identifying minors seeking emancipation from their parents and/or sex-rejection procedures.
There was widespread outrage but also skepticism over the mailers, especially after the radical organization named and promoted in the pamphlet — the Transgender Education Network of Texas — denied responsibility for it.
'I think that their own materials ... like their "Back to School Toolkit" — I think they deserve scrutiny as well.'
TENT says it was not responsible, and evidence points to a possible election-time "op" by an out-of-state actor. However, critics have observed that the controversial messaging in the flyer greatly resembles what has been pushed by TENT and other trans activist outfits in the state.
Disavowal
The pamphlet states, "You are not alone. There are people in Texas who will help you find support."
BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales, X
After discussing emancipation, "what to do if your parents don't support you," and "what to know about hormones or gender affirming care," the pamphlet devotes two pages to promoting TENT and its "Trans Texas Takeover Fall Tour," which is an actual tour with upcoming events scheduled across the state.
Earlier in the month, multiple phone numbers sent provocative texts to Texans also linking to TENT's newly scrubbed website and its "Back to School Toolkit," reported the Tribune.
One text allegedly stated, "New school year? Here's your complete guide on bathrooms and beyond for trans kids at school," with a link to a TENT toolkit.
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L-R: David Buono/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images; Luis Soto/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images
These communications prompted outrage and an investigation request by Texas state Rep. Jeff Leach (R).
Leach has since supplemented his request, asking Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton to look into the "possibility that the communications and associated toolkit may not originate from the group whose name it was sent under."
Paxton's office did not immediately respond to Blaze News' request for comment.
TENT has disavowed the pamphlet and the text messages.
TENT noted in a statement on its website, "We are aware of text messages and now physical mailers that have been circulated concerning TENT that appear to have been issued by or on behalf of the organization. These text messages and mailers were not authored, authorized, approved, or distributed by TENT and are not affiliated with our organization. The texts do not represent the official position or communications of the organization."
Mimi Marziani, a lawyer at the law firm retained by TENT, told NBC News, "This was deliberately injected into public conversation right as early voting was taking place, and I do not think it was a coincidence."
While TENT has denied involvement, Jonathan Covey, the director of policy for Texas Values, told Blaze News, "I think that their own materials that they do have and that we have been able to see — like their 'Back to School Toolkit' — I think they deserve scrutiny as well. We think that some of the positions that they take undermine parents' roles in their children's lives."
Covey underscored the need to identify the individuals behind the mailer and how they "obtained all that mailing information."
"Families deserve answers about where that information came from," added Covey.
Origin
WFAA-TV, KHOU-TV, the Texas Tribune, and sleuths online have connected the pamphlet back to a limited liability company that was registered in Wyoming last month, reinforcing suspicions that this mailing campaign may have been an election-time "op" all along.
The return sender listed on the mailer is "Texas Transgender Student Union," an outfit that does not appear to be an organization with a presence in the state. The return address in Meadows Place, Texas, isn't a valid address, referring instead to the middle of a street. It also appears to be a look-alike address modeled on Transgender Education Network of Texas' address.
Snopes highlighted, however, that a similar address turns up a nearby mailbox at a UPS store.
The Texas Observer's Steven Monacelli discovered this week that the Texas Transgender Student Union "is a real organization — but it was only formed in September in Wyoming as an LLC and is entirely separate from TENT, the organization marketed in the fliers."
Wyoming Secretary of State Business Center
The LLC's registered agent is the popular corporate filing service Northwest Registered Agent LLC; its organizer is listed as Taylor Newman; and it is tied to an address in Sheridan, Wyoming, which has been linked to various companies accused of scams.
Newman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Northwest Registered Agent told WFAA-TV:
One of our main jobs is receiving state and legal notices for our clients and forwarding them promptly. This gives agencies a way to serve legal notices on companies, even if they don’t have a physical office location, and it keeps businesses reachable by law enforcement and regulators. That is where our involvement ends. We have no way of knowing someone’s intent when they’re forming a new company, and Northwest Registered Agent has no knowledge of, or involvement in, our clients’ business operations.
TENT has reportedly sent a cease-and-desist notice to the Texas Transgender Student Union as well as to a pair of digital messaging companies that reportedly delivered the text messages on Oct. 12 and 13.
The Senate campaigns of state Rep. James Talarico (D) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News but told CBS News Texas that they had nothing to do with the LGBT mailer.
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