Days before the midterm elections, the Texas Supreme Court has blocked an effort to uncover who is behind a group that sent millions of pamphlets on transgender resources to Texas children.
The court’s justices granted an emergency pause Friday, just minutes before a deposition was set to begin, possibly delaying a resolution to the election mystery until after Election Day.
The Transgender Education Network of Texas, or TENT, an advocacy organization, signaled Friday it will sue the Texas Transgender Student Union, the newly formed entity that sent the mailers. TENT has accused the group of trying to impersonate it.
The mailers and similar text messages, which purported to help transgender children, ignited an uproar as early voting began, calls for state and federal investigations, and bickering among conservative influencers and politicians.
Austin-based Attorney Mimi Marziani, who represents TENT in its quest to identify who sent the messages and mailers, said Friday some questions remain, but this was undoubtedly a “false flag operation by right-wing operatives.”
Who sent mysterious transgender mailers to Texans?
“They were trying to trick Republican and conservative-leaning voters and create division among the electorate,” Marziani said. “It’s pretty clear they were willing to break laws and hurt a lot of people in pursuit of their political goals.”
Addressed to the “students” in the family, the mailers offer advice for transgender youth, such as details on legal emancipation from unsupportive parents, information about hormone therapy and resources to seek care outside Texas.
The text messages and mailers directed recipients to TENT, and the brochures mimicked the look and appearance of the organization’s website and materials.
According to the return address, the mailers were sent by the Texas Transgender Student Union from an address in Meadows Place, near Houston. That organization, which is not affiliated with TENT, was formed last month in Wyoming, a state that allows registered agents to create businesses without disclosing the owners.
Travis County Judge Jan Soifer ordered a digital messaging company tied to the text messages and the transgender student union provide depositions.
A mailer sent to Texas households purporting to be from a transgender advocacy group photographed at the Dallas Morning News in Dallas, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News)
Attorneys for TENT had hoped to unearth details about the student union Friday at that deposition. Chris Hilton, an attorney for the Texas Transgender Student Union, requested an emergency stay from the state’s highest court. Justices did not provide a reason for why they granted it.
Hilton previously served as assistant attorney general under Ken Paxton, a Republican now running for U.S. Senate. Hilton responded to an email from The Dallas Morning News on Friday but did not provide a comment or additional details about his client.
On Thursday, a separate deposition into the source of the text messages identified the senders as the “Republican Women Caucus Fund” and an individual named John Braun.
A Republican Women Caucus Fund does not appear to exist, but a spokesperson for the Republican Women’s Caucus Fund said in a statement Thursday the group had “absolutely no involvement” in the text messages or pamphlets sent to some Texas homes.
“We did not authorize, fund, direct, coordinate or participate in these activities in any capacity,” the statement said. “RWCF has been wrongfully named in this lawsuit.”
The Republican Women’s Caucus Fund is a political action committee that supports GOP women lawmakers. Its treasurer, Paul Kilgore, runs a political consulting firm that tracks Republican campaign funding.
Kilgore is also listed as treasurer for a Republican named John Braun, who is running for U.S. Congress in Washington. In an email, Braun’s campaign denied he had any role in the text messages, and Thursday’s deposition provided no additional details about his involvement. Kilgore did not respond to attempts to reach him by phone or email.
Members of the transgender community take part in a rally on the steps of the Texas Capitol, Monday, March 6, 2017, in Austin, Texas. The group is opposing a “bathroom bill” that would require people to use public bathrooms and restrooms that correspond with the sex on their birth certificate. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (AP)
The pamphlets have at least one North Texas connection.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service this week identified the mailers’ permit holder as Illinois-based Three Z Printing, owned by Bill Zerrusen. Zerrusen’s son, Matthew, lives in Flower Mound. The men did not respond to multiple phone calls or text messages from The News.
A permit is required to send large volumes of commercial mail, but they have not been implicated in creating or financing the mailers.
The mailers and text messages created a wave of confusion and anger among Texas parents and voters. The brochures quickly came under fire as details about the Wyoming connection emerged.
Democrats and some Republicans called the mailers a ploy to stoke anti-transgender sentiment ahead of the high-stakes midterm election that includes a close race between state Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat, and Paxton for U.S. Senate.
State Rep. Jeff Leach, an Allen Republican who initially called for an investigation into TENT following the mailers, later asked the attorney general’s office to investigate who sent the mailers. Sarah Stogner, a Republican district attorney in West Texas, has launched an investigation.
Vice President J.D. Vance appeared to reference the mailers at a rally Thursday in Weatherford and said he planned to ask the Justice Department to investigate the matter.
Transgender group seeks court order to uncover who sent fraudulent mailers
Earlier that day, Fox News aired a town hall, in which a Fort Worth-area mother, identified by the outlet as Rebekah Smith, told Vance her child received a piece of mail with information about how to transition from one gender to another. It was not certain she was referencing this mailer, and Smith did not respond to a phone call seeking additional information Friday.
“I call a person who would send a letter like that to an 11-year-old a pervert who deserves a prison sentence,” Vance told the crowd.
TENT said it became the target of online hate and threats of violence as a result of the messages and mailers. Out of safety concerns, it paused a statewide tour planned to educate transgender Texans and their loved ones about the state’s legislative process and the laws that affect them.
Andrea Segovia, deputy director of TENT, said Friday the misinformation campaign sought to target transgender people and take the focus off of high gas and grocery prices during the election.
“Yet again,” Segovia said, “cruelty is the point.”
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This article originally published at Texas Supreme Court blocks effort to uncover who is behind transgender mailers.