Christian Nationalists Plan Texas Conference To “Defend White Heritage” Amid Controversy

A Christian nationalist group with close ties to the Texas GOP will host a conference next month with Republican figures to talk about an alleged Democratic plan to “rid the earth of the white race,” according to The Texas Tribune.

The True Texas Project, the activist group, would celebrate its 15th anniversary with a party and conferences that will address conspiracy theories such as the Great Replacement, a theory that Americans are being deliberately replaced by immigration, a theory common among far-right extremists and anti-Semites, including many mass shooters.

The conference features speakers such retired U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, and Paul Gottfried, a far-right writer known for his association with white supremacists and mentoring of neo-Nazis such as Richard Spencer.

“It’s absolutely vital we remember that when they say ‘white supremacy’ or ‘white nationalism’ or whatever the most recent scare phrase is, they literally just mean your heritage and historical way of life,” reads the description for a conference. “It’s a culture war, simple as that. Stop apologizing. Stop backing down. Start fighting back.”

Experts on terrorism and extremism have expressed concern about the conference, noting the mix of mainstream conservative speakers with fringe figures linked to neo-Nazis and other far-right extremists.

“These are the type of people that I’m most concerned about from an extremism standpoint,” Elizabeth Neumann, a former senior Department of Homeland Security official under former President Donald Trump, told The Tribune. “A number of them have been making arguments — some of them supposedly Biblical — that violence is okay, and that violence is justified by Scripture for the purposes of establishing a Christian nation.”

Other issues discussed at the conferences include immigration and what they call an invasion of America, and how to stop both legal and illegal immigration. The event is even putting pressure on Governor Greg Abbott to adopt even more extreme policies.

“We all know the federal government has no intention of stopping the flood of illegal aliens pouring across the border,” reads the description for a conference.  “And most of us have figured out that, though Governor Abbott has some good sound bites, he would rather bow to his cheap labor donors than do what he knows is the right thing.”

True Texas Project is part of a powerful political network funded by oil billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks. These donors have pushed the state GOP and Legislature toward hardline stances on immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, and public education. They have also played a significant role in purging moderate lawmakers from the party and survived scandals involving racists and antisemites employed by their funded groups.

True Project Texas was previously known as the NE Tarrant Tea Party, but changed its name after its founder, Julie McCarty, expressed sympathy for the gunman who killed 23 Hispanic people at an El Paso Walmart in 2019, one of the most tragic shootings in the state and one of the shootings motivated by the Great Replacement Theory.