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Last month, Conservative political figure Steve Hotze called Republican Texas Governor Gregg Abbott to make sure the National Guard was available to “restore order.”
“I want you to give a message to the governor,” Hotze told Abbott’s chief of staff, Luis Saenz, in a voicemail. “I want to make sure that he has the National Guard down here and they have the order to shoot to kill if any of these son-of-a-bitch people start rioting like they have in Dallas, start tearing down businesses — shoot to kill the son of a bitches. That’s the only way you restore order. Kill ‘em. Thank you.”
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There’s no word on whether or not Saenz responded to the voicemail.
On Saturday, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, called it “absolutely disgusting and reprehensible” on Twitter.
Dear Steve Hotze, you are a physician. I hope the Texas Medical Board takes your license away. https://t.co/3IBekAbyzj
— Sara Spector (@Miriam2626) July 4, 2020
The Texas Tribune broke this story and almost immediately, Hotze took to Facebook to try to clear his name.
“It’s not about race but has everything to do with the future of America—the freest and most progressive country in the world. It’s about those who burn homes and businesses, including those owned by African-Americans and attack law enforcement. Enough is enough,” said Hotze.
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Hotze is known for being extremely outspoken on social media and his extreme right-wing posts never waver in tone. They range from violent videos condemning protesters and memes making fun of Joe Biden, to coronavirus conspiracy messaging.
Steven Hotze has been a scourge on Houston for decades. He is an utter embarrassment. https://t.co/UfMwdADbbx
— Jeff Balke (@jeffbalke) July 5, 2020
Hotze continued to criticize Governor Abbott, referencing his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, he filed a lawsuit against the statewide mask mandate in a Travis County District Court.
“This draconian order is contrary to the Texas spirit and invades the liberties the people of Texas protected in the constitution,” the lawsuit says.
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