Tag Archives: Steven Hotze

The Woodfill/Pressler story keeps getting uglier

Truly gross. In 2017, a Houston college student wrote to the family of Paul Pressler, warning them that the former Texas judge and Southern Baptist leader was a pedophile. “There is a serious issue at hand,” he wrote in an … Continue reading

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Southern Baptist Convention settles Paul Pressler sexual abuse lawsuit

A big deal. The Southern Baptist Convention and others have reached a confidential settlement in a high-profile lawsuit that accused a former leader of sexual assault, ending a six-year legal drama that helped prompt a broader reckoning over child sexual … Continue reading

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Sure, Jared

The campaign ads will write themselves. Prominent anti-LGBTQ+ attorney and former Harris County GOP chair Jared Woodfill is running for the Texas House and to replace House Speaker Dade Phelan. Woodfill announced his candidacy for House District 138 this week, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Steven Hotze enters the impeachment chat

Wait, what? Houston conservative activist Steve Hotze filed a lawsuit Friday challenging the gag order issued by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial, arguing the policy violates free speech protections under the Texas Constitution. In … Continue reading

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The Chron drops a big Hotze story

Despite the headline, I didn’t find a whole lot of new details of interest here. Most of the new stuff consists of the various unhinged things that Hotze has been saying about elections and how everyone is covering up massive … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Today is a court day for Steven Hotze

As you may recall, local wingnut crackpot Steven Hotze was sued last May by air conditioner repairman David Lopez after a couple of Hotze goons led by former HPD Captain Mark Aguirre assaulted him on the road in an unhinged … Continue reading

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It’s the year 2022 and we’re still litigating the Affordable Care Act

Isn’t this horse dead yet? A federal judge in Fort Worth agreed Wednesday with a group of Christian conservatives that Affordable Care Act requirements to cover HIV prevention drugs violate their religious freedom. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor also agreed … Continue reading

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There’s a lot of anti-LGBTQ litigation out there

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but this is where we are. In the wake of the toppling of Roe v. Wade and with Justice Clarence Thomas urging the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit rulings on gay sex … Continue reading

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Oh yeah, Hotze knew all about the Aguirre attack

Who could have ever guessed that a lifelong lying lair was lying to us? Two days before a private investigator looking into a voter fraud conspiracy theory smashed into an air conditioning repairman’s truck and pulled a gun on him, far-right activist Steven … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hotze gets bail

I don’t know about you, but I’d feel much safer if this guy had been locked up. Far-right activist Steven Hotze on Thursday made his first court appearance since being indicted on criminal charges after funding a private investigation into … Continue reading

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Hotze indicted for his bogus “voter fraud investigation”

Lock him up. Steven Hotze, the far-right agitator who funded a private investigation into voter fraud that ended with a private investigator pointing a gun at an innocent air conditioning repairman, has been indicted for his role in the episode. … Continue reading

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Another look at the Aguirre/Hotze debacle

Man, do I ever want this to be the end of Steven Hotze as a political force. A well-funded far-right group—that made inroads with Stop The Steal organizations, paid a former police captain more than $200,000 to hunt ballots, and became entangled in a … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Aguirre indicted

Gotta admit, I had thought this happened long ago. A Harris County grand jury on Tuesday indicted former Houston police captain Mark Aguirre on an assault charge after he was accused of running a man off the road and pointing to a … Continue reading

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Hotze’s first attempt at defending himself in the Lopez/Aguirre lawsuit fails

There’s a long way to go on this, but at least for now the courts aren’t having any of Steven Hotze’s bullshit. A petition for mandamus was denied by the 14th Court of Appeals today – an appeal brought by … Continue reading

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30 day campaign finance reports: HISD

HISD and HCC elections are the main event this November, and as we approach the start of early voting, we can now look at the 30-day campaign finance reports for the candidates. Here’s what things look like in HISD. Elizabeth … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2021 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

AC repairman sues Hotze

Hell yeah. An air conditioning repairman who was held at gunpoint last October as part of a right-wing group’s voter fraud investigation has sued the group and its CEO, Houston conservative activist Steven Hotze. David Lopez, the repairman, filed a … Continue reading

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Have you been pining for another Hotze/Woodfill lawsuit?

Well, then today is your lucky day. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and conservative activist Dr. Steven Hotze, a prolific litigant, are suing Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for requiring COVID-19 tests for entry into the Texas Senate gallery and committee … Continue reading

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A closer look at the Aguirre/Hotze debacle

This WaPo story was pointed out in the comments here, and it’s worth your time to read. I should note that while the Houston Chronicle has not (at least so far) identified the air conditioning repairman that Aguirre attacked, this … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Aguirre’s arraignment

The latest update on the Aguirre/Hotze fever-dream “vote fraud” case. An ex-Houston police officer on Friday swore he is “done” with private investigations after being arrested and charged with assaulting an air conditioning repairman he claimed was involved in a … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Hotze spews some BS

That could be a perennial headline, like a pinned tweet, but here it’s for a specific purpose. Conservative activist Steven Hotze said Wednesday he does not know if the former Houston police captain he hired to investigate voter fraud really … Continue reading

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The real danger of unhinged conspiracy theories

Because sometimes malevolent people act them out, with potentially deadly consequences for others. An air conditioning repairman was driving in south Houston around 5:30 a.m. on Oct. 19 when a black SUV rammed the back of his truck. When he … Continue reading

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I remain pessimistic about the chances of good voting bills passing

This Trib story suggests that with Republicans doing well in the high turnout 2020 election, and with the emergency measures that were implemented to expand voting access, the odds of getting a bill passed to make some forms of voting … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Federal judge denies Hotze petition

Hopefully, this will be the end of this particular nonsense. A federal judge Monday rejected a request by a conservative activist and three Republican candidates to toss out nearly 127,000 votes cast at drive-thru polling sites in Texas’ most populous, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

SCOTX rejects Hotze petition to throw out drive through votes

One piece of good news. A legal cloud hanging over nearly 127,000 votes already cast in Harris County was at least temporarily lifted Sunday when the Texas Supreme Court rejected a request by several conservative Republican activists and candidates to … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Hotze and Woodfill take their fight against drive-thru voting to federal court

Just another quiet Saturday… . Judge Hanen has already scheduled an emergency hearing for Monday morning—without even giving Harris County a chance to file a response brief. This, too, is extremely concerning. It looks like he may be rushing to … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

One last, desperate attempt to kill drive-though voting

These guys really suck. Not much more can be said. A new challenge to Harris County’s drive-thru voting sites, filed by two GOP candidates and a Republican member of the Texas House, asks the state Supreme Court to void ballots … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

SCOTX rejects challenges to drive-through voting

Halle-fricking-lujah. Voters in the state’s most populous county can continue casting their ballots for the fall election at 10 drive-thru polling places after the Texas Supreme Court Thursday rejected a last-minute challenge by the Texas and Harris County Republican parties, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

On executive power and the role of the Legislature

Just a few thoughts from recent events relating to Greg Abbott, COVID-19, vote access and suppression, local control, all those Hotze lawsuits, and so forth. 1. I think most of us would agree that however we assess Greg Abbott’s performance … Continue reading

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Win one, lose one at SCOTX

The win: Early voting in Texas can begin Oct. 13, following the timeline the governor laid out months ago, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, rejecting a request from several top Texas Republicans to limit the timeframe for voters to … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Paxton opposes Hotze mandamus to curb early voting

From Reform Austin: In a brief filed with the Texas Supreme Court, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argues that the GOP group suing Gov. Greg Abbott to prevent him from extending early voting for the November election has no standing … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Hotze’s latest Supreme Court gambit

He has nothing else to do, clearly. A litigious conservative activist in Houston, the Harris County Republican party, and a number of Republican officials and candidates are asking the Texas Supreme Court to limit in-person and absentee voting options for … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Hotze and crew appeal to SCOTX to stop the extra week of early voting

Here we go again. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is facing a lawsuit over his extension of early voting for the November election from prominent members of his own party — including state party Chairman Allen West, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Where are we with the lawsuit to stop Harris County from sending out vote by mail applications?

Thanks for asking, we had the hearing in district court yesterday. Voting in person will be safe across Texas in this fall’s general election despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the state’s elections director asserted in a Harris County courtroom Wednesday … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

Supreme Court issues possibly pointless stay in mail ballots case

This story doesn’t quite say what it seems to say, as we will see. The Texas Supreme Court has temporarily blocked Harris County from sending mail-in ballot applications to all its voters for the November election. The decision Wednesday came … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments