Gov. Greg Abbott is again threatening to cut off public safety funding to force local officials to bend to his will.
The Republican governor on Wednesday warned the city of Grand Prairie that more than a half million dollars in public safety grants were on the line over a Muslim event planned at a city-owned water park.
The Eid celebration, which is being hosted by a private group renting out the park, went viral after it was originally advertised as “Muslim only.” Event organizers have since rebranded it as open to everyone, but Abbott said the city would still be flouting antidiscrimination laws if it allowed the event on June 1 to go forward.
“The City must cancel the event and commit to never allowing something like it again by May 11th, or lose $530,000 in state grants,” Abbott wrote on X. “Let this be a lesson to local officials: Facilities funded by ALL taxpayers are not just for a subset of Texans.”
Local officials might take another lesson from it, as well: The Republican governor appears to have a new tool to cudgel cities into acting as he wishes.
Abbott in recent weeks successfully forced a trio of cities — Houston, Austin and Dallas — to revise policies limiting police cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The governor used the same threat, vowing to rescind millions in public safety grants if the cities did not rework the policies.
The governor said the immigration policies put the cities out of compliance with agreements they signed to receive the grants. The agreements also require cities to “comply with all State and Federal statutes relating to civil rights and nondiscrimination,” Andrew Friedrichs, the executive director of the governor’s Public Safety Office, wrote in a letter to Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen.
Grand Prairie did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Eid celebration sparked controversy online after it was originally advertised as a “Muslim only event.” The event is being held at Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark, a city-owned water park that the group hosting the event is renting out. The celebration marks the end of the month of fasting known as Ramadan.
Organizer Amina Knight wrote on the event’s website that she updated the advertising in response to the backlash to “clearly reflect that this is a modest dress-only event, centered around a respectful and family-friendly environment.”
The new flier replaced “Muslim only” with “modest dress only.” It says “all are welcome,” but stresses a dress code, including “burkinis for ladies.”
“At its core, this event is about creating a space where individuals and families, particularly those who value modest dress and a modest environment, can come together and enjoy a recreational setting comfortably,” Knight wrote. “If you are a friend of a different faith who wants to celebrate the Eid holiday with us and adhere to the modest dress code…. this event is FOR YOU TOO!”
The governor’s public safety director called the changes “tacit admission.”