BORDER WALL ECOCIDE
The National Butterfly Center along the Texas-Mexico border is shutting down for 3 days, citing threats and a nearby MAGA rallyjepstein@insider.com (Jake Epstein,Azmi Haroun,Kieran Press-Reynolds) -
Border wall protesters shout during a march at the National Butterfly Center wildlife preserve near the Rio Grande River in Mission, Texas, on February 16, 2019.
REUTERS/Veronica G. Cardenas
The National Butterfly Center in Texas was forced to shut down for three days, citing threats.
The National Butterfly Center in Texas was forced to shut down for three days, citing threats.
It's the latest chapter of years-long conspiracy theories lobbed at the butterfly sanctuary.
Center staff have previously spoken out against a wall along the nearby US-Mexico border.
The National Butterfly Center in McAllen, Texas, was forced to shut down for three days, citing mounting threats linked to a pro-Trump border wall event and conspiracy theories from We Build The Wall founder Brian Kolfage.
"We are writing to let you know the National Butterfly Center will be closed Friday, Jan. 28 - Sunday, Jan. 30, due to credible threats we have received from a former state official," center staff said in a notice on Thursday.
The border wall event is hosted by a slew of conservative organizations, including Women Fighting For America and Veterans for America First. Arizona Rep. Mark Finchem and former Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan are scheduled to attend. Tickets range in price from $10 to $2,500.
Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, former President Donald Trump's pardoned national security advisor, is also set to speak at what We Stand America refers to as its "Take Action Tour," according to its website.
Former Gen. Michael Flynn, whom Donald Trump pardoned while president, speaks during a protest of the outcome of the 2020 presidential election outside the Supreme Court on December 12, 2020. Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
One of the events, which We Stand America lists as an optional activity on Sunday, is a "Caravan to the border."
"Join us as we head down to the unfinished border wall section where we will link arms and pray for our Nation," the site reads.
In its notice, the butterfly center said a "former state official" told executive director Marianna Wright that the center "would likely be a stop" for the caravan and that Wright "and the center are targets." The former official also told Wright she should be either away or "armed at all times" this weekend, according to the notice.
A spokesperson for the Mission Police Department confirmed to Insider on Friday that there was an ongoing investigation into the situation, but declined to elaborate further.
Kolfage — who, according to a ticket site, does not appear to be a speaker at this weekend's event in McAllen — and Flynn did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.
The Butterfly Center and Trump supporters have clashed before
Conspiracy theories lobbed against the center — which the staff refers to in the notice as "malicious and defamatory lies" — are not new.
Leaders of We Build the Wall Inc. discuss plans for future barrier construction along the US-Mexico border in in Sunland Park, New Mexico, on May 30, 2019
AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio
In November 2019, as Kolfage and We Build the Wall fundraised for the endeavor — which resulted in a tax fraud indictment for Kolfage and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon — they sought to construct the wall near the center's 100-acre butterfly reserve.
In November 2019, as Kolfage and We Build the Wall fundraised for the endeavor — which resulted in a tax fraud indictment for Kolfage and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon — they sought to construct the wall near the center's 100-acre butterfly reserve.
Local officials, the center, and a ProPublica and Texas Tribune investigation all raised concerns about the ecological soundness of the project, especially in proximity to nature reserves and the Rio Grande.
Kolfage turned his attention to the center, which stood near his fantasy wall's path, and hurled a series of conspiratorial accusations at Wright, as well as other Rio Grande business owners and advocates who opposed the wall.
In November 2019, Kolfage tweeted at the center, baselessly claiming there was "rampant sex trade taking place on your property and the death (sic) bodies," according to My Rio Grande Valley News.
A purported screenshot of another 2019 tweet showed Kolfage baselessly claiming, "The only butterflies we saw were swarming a decomposing body," according to the center's notice.
The notice also includes what it refers to as a "fake photo of rafts at our dock composed and disseminated by Kolfage & crew." The photo appears to show a dock at a riverbank and includes the text: "The National Butterfly sham even has a dock for illegals who come by raft... nice welcome mat!"
Visitors at the National Butterfly Center. Courtesy of Marianna Wright
Kolfage's Facebook account was suspended in November 2020 because of repeated violations of pushing misinformation and association with Bannon, the Washington Post reported at the time. His Twitter account is also suspended.
The director said the years-long campaign has 'taken an immeasurable toll'
According to the center notice, Wright was made aware of the We Stand America event last week when Virginia congressional candidate Kimberly Lowe made a visit to the center.
Lowe and a friend, who claimed to be a Secret Service agent, showed up at the center on January 21 and sought access to the back of the butterfly center so they could see "illegals crossing on rafts," according to an affidavit Wright filed and shared with Insider.
Wright said in the affidavit that Lowe was streaming on Facebook Live and she attempted to get the candidate to stop and leave, but a scuffle ensued. Wright said her son called 911.
Both Lowe and the US Secret Service did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.
In the past, individuals associated with far-right extremist groups including the Oath Keepers and Three Percenters have also appeared at the center, My Rio Grande Valley News reported.
Wright told Insider that the years-long campaign has "taken an immeasurable toll," and that she didn't quite know how to describe how "harmful" it's been.
The National Butterfly Center sued Kolfage, We Build the Wall, and associated construction companies for their endeavor in December 2019 — specifically alleging Kolfage's harassment campaign defamed them.
"The more they could engage and incite their base, the bigger their dollar count," Wright told Insider.
The center's notice announcing their temporary closure also said that a Texas Department of Transportation sign was torn down on Thursday morning.
"We simply cannot risk the safety and lives of our staff and visitors during this dangerous time," the notice read.
Texas Butterfly Sanctuary Shuts Citing Threats From Trump Supporters
By AFP News
02/03/22
A butterfly sanctuary caught in the crossfire of polarizing conspiracy theories on illegal immigration to the United States said it will shut its doors Thursday, citing security concerns after receiving threats from supporters of former president Donald Trump.
The National Butterfly Center in Texas, located on the banks of the Rio Grande that separates the United States from Mexico, had filed a complaint to block construction of the border wall that became a centerpiece of Trump's presidency, saying it threatened the winged insects' habitat.
The private sanctuary's gardens are home to more than 200 species of butterfly as well as bobcats, coyotes, peccaries, armadillos and Texas tortoises.
But it will now be closed until further notice because "the safety of our staff and visitors is our primary concern," Jeffrey Glassberg, president of the North American Butterfly Association, which runs the organization, said in a statement Wednesday.
Conspiracy theories targeting the sanctuary -- which have been linked to far-right group QAnon by US media -- have claimed it was helping to bring illegal migrants to America.
The facility already closed between January 28 and 30 because of "credible threats" related to an event held by supporters of the former president in nearby McAllen, Glassberg said.
Photos purporting to be from the center had been circulating along with messages accusing the organization of helping smugglers bring migrants to the United States.
By AFP News
02/03/22
A butterfly sanctuary caught in the crossfire of polarizing conspiracy theories on illegal immigration to the United States said it will shut its doors Thursday, citing security concerns after receiving threats from supporters of former president Donald Trump.
The National Butterfly Center in Texas, located on the banks of the Rio Grande that separates the United States from Mexico, had filed a complaint to block construction of the border wall that became a centerpiece of Trump's presidency, saying it threatened the winged insects' habitat.
The private sanctuary's gardens are home to more than 200 species of butterfly as well as bobcats, coyotes, peccaries, armadillos and Texas tortoises.
But it will now be closed until further notice because "the safety of our staff and visitors is our primary concern," Jeffrey Glassberg, president of the North American Butterfly Association, which runs the organization, said in a statement Wednesday.
Conspiracy theories targeting the sanctuary -- which have been linked to far-right group QAnon by US media -- have claimed it was helping to bring illegal migrants to America.
The facility already closed between January 28 and 30 because of "credible threats" related to an event held by supporters of the former president in nearby McAllen, Glassberg said.
Photos purporting to be from the center had been circulating along with messages accusing the organization of helping smugglers bring migrants to the United States.
The private sanctuary's gardens are home to more than 200 species of butterfly as well as bobcats, coyotes, peccaries, armadillos and Texas tortoises
Photo: AFP / SUZANNE CORDEIRO
Several right-wing activists have posted videos on social media of themselves in front of the sanctuary.
"We don't think the threat has passed," the sanctuary's executive director Marianna Trevino Wright told AFP on Wednesday, citing repeated "provocations" from these individuals.
Wright said she feared the allegations against the center would eventually push someone to "take action."
"We look forward to reopening, soon, when the authorities and the professionals who are helping us get past this situation give us the green light," Glassberg said in the statement, noting that employees would continue to receive their salaries during the closure.
The QAnon far-right conspiracy movement began in 2017 with claims that the Democrats ran a satanic child-kidnapping sex-trafficking ring, and it has been blamed for fuelling a riot at the US Capitol on January 6 last year.
Trump has never condemned the movement and even fed QAnon fever before the US presidential election in 2020, floating his own conspiracy theories about a planeload of black-clad saboteurs disrupting his party convention.
Several right-wing activists have posted videos on social media of themselves in front of the sanctuary.
"We don't think the threat has passed," the sanctuary's executive director Marianna Trevino Wright told AFP on Wednesday, citing repeated "provocations" from these individuals.
Wright said she feared the allegations against the center would eventually push someone to "take action."
"We look forward to reopening, soon, when the authorities and the professionals who are helping us get past this situation give us the green light," Glassberg said in the statement, noting that employees would continue to receive their salaries during the closure.
The QAnon far-right conspiracy movement began in 2017 with claims that the Democrats ran a satanic child-kidnapping sex-trafficking ring, and it has been blamed for fuelling a riot at the US Capitol on January 6 last year.
Trump has never condemned the movement and even fed QAnon fever before the US presidential election in 2020, floating his own conspiracy theories about a planeload of black-clad saboteurs disrupting his party convention.
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