The flyers began appearing in Texas mailboxes as early voting got underway, presenting themselves as informational materials from the purported Texas Transgender Student Union. But there’s a catch: The organization appears to be nonexistent, according to a CBS News probe.
Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News
A batch of mailers sent to Texas households ahead of the November midterm elections may be connected to an Illinois printing company whose owner and his son have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Trump-aligned groups and Republican committees, CBS News reports.
The flyers, which appeared to come from a transgender advocacy organization, have been linked to Three Z Printing, an Illinois company. U.S. Postal Service records show the company holds the bulk-mail permit used to send the flyers to more than 1 million Texas addresses.
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According to the United States Postal Service, the company — dubbed Three Z Printing — holds the bulk-mail permit used to distribute the flyers to more than 1 million Texas addresses. The business is owned by Bill Zerrusen, whose son Matthew Zerrusen lives in Flower Mound, near Dallas. The family has donated more than $700,000 to Trump-aligned organizations and Republican committees over the years, Federal Election Commission records show.
Those contributions include $125,000 from Bill Zerrusen to the Trump 47 Committee in 2024 and $70,000 from Matthew Zerrusen to the same organization. However, there is no public evidence establishing that the family personally authorized or financed the mailers, and Three Z Printing did not immediately respond to the Express-News’ request for comment on the matter.
The flyers began appearing in Texas mailboxes as early voting got underway, presenting themselves as informational materials from the purported Texas Transgender Student Union. But there’s a catch: The organization appears to be nonexistent, according to a CBS News probe.
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New findings have linked the controversial flyers to an Illinois printing company, whose owners have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Trump and Republican political groups.
Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News
Investigators previously traced the name to a recently established Wyoming limited liability company. Meanwhile, the mailers directed recipients toward resources associated with the Transgender Education Network of Texas, or TENT, without the organization’s permission.
One particularly controversial passage encouraged young recipients to consider emancipating themselves from their parents and contacting a “safe” adult. TENT has denied supporting that message and is pursuing legal action to identify those responsible.
In a petition filed with in Travis County seeking to identify the sender, TENT alleges the unidentified party “co-opted TENT’s name, materials (including photographs), branding and website without TENT’s knowledge or consent, violating state law.”
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The fallout has reportedly extended beyond political controversy, as critics maintain the mailers were intended to spark outrage directed toward the transgender community. Additionally, TENT says the mailers have endangered its leadership and threatened the organization’s future.
“The damage to TENT has been immediate and severe, threatening the safety of TENT’s leadership and the very existence of its organization,” the lawsuit says. “TENT has met an onslaught of hate and violent threats through its social media and email channels, and that volume has only grown since the Mailer began arriving in voters’ homes shortly after the messages hit voters’ phones.”
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One particularly controversial passage encouraged young recipients to consider emancipating themselves from their parents and contacting a “safe” adult. TENT has denied supporting that message and is pursuing legal action to identify those responsible.
Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News
The organization also names a Croatian IT company called Infobip in its lawsuit, which claims the company sent the texts to Texans on behalf of a client. However, the company refused to name who its client was, according to the petition.
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TENT is asking the court for a temporary restraining order against Infobip and Texas Transgender Student Union LLC, and will likely seek to recover damages if the parties responsible for the unauthorized use of its name and materials are identified.
A separate CBS News Texas investigation identified a Maryland-based tracking company, SnailWorks, through postal barcodes. TENT also sent a cease-and-desist letter to SnailWorks on Thursday, The Advocate reported, though the company denied producing or distributing the materials.
As of Tuesday, both Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton’s campaign and Democratic opponent James Talarico’s campaign have denied involvement.
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