Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed another lawsuit attempting to block a North Texas Muslim oriented housing development.<\/p>\n
Paxton is accusing the Double R Municipal Utility District of Hunt and Collin County of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act in a new lawsuit. The MUD\u2019s board of directors accepted the resignation of the entire board and appointed new members before annexing the Muslim housing project. The board did so without providing the public access to the meeting according to the lawsuit, violating open meetings law.<\/p>\n
Representatives of the project and civil rights group say the project is being unfairly targeted because of anti-Muslim bias. A spokesperson for The Meadow’s developer, Community Capital Partners, told KERA Paxton is targeting the development because of its association with the Muslim community.<\/p>\n
“His express reference to EPIC in official press materials confirms that this is not neutral or even-handed enforcement, but religious discrimination by the State,” the spokesperson said. “The Meadow remains a lawful residential development. We will continue to move forward through the appropriate legal and regulatory process and will address these claims on a full and fair record.”<\/p>\n
The Muslim housing project formerly known as EPIC City and is now called The Meadow is years away from construction \u2014 but it\u2019s already plagued with controversy and state scrutiny. <\/p>\n
Paxton has launched several investigations and filed multiple lawsuits attempting to block the project. And Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. John Cornyn, Paxton\u2019s opponent in the upcoming GOP primary runoff, have also targeted the Muslim oriented housing community.<\/p>\n
The latest lawsuit seeks to void the annexation of the Muslim housing community into the Double R MUD and declare the board\u2019s actions as a violation of the open meetings act.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cI will fight to uncover and stop any illegal scheme that seeks to advance their project,\u201d Paxton said in a press release.<\/a><\/p>\n Paxton filed the open meetings lawsuit in Collin County. A Collin County Judge issued a\u00a0temporary injunction<\/a>\u00a0in another lawsuit Paxton filed against the Double R MUD in March<\/a>, blocking the board from exercising any authority except to comply with the lawsuit pending trial on Nov. 16. Paxton accused the MUD in another lawsuit<\/a> of helping the developer of the project, Community Capital Partners, avoid the state scrutiny in the MUD creation process.<\/p>\n Paxton has a history with the Collin County courts \u2014 they’re near his home base of McKinney.\u00a0Records show<\/a>\u00a0that multiple Collin County Judges recused themselves from Paxton\u2019s divorce case, which was eventually assigned to a visiting judge from Wichita Falls. And Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis recused himself from Paxton\u2019s securities fraud case\u00a0in 2015<\/a>\u00a0due to their longtime friendship. The securities fraud charges against the Attorney General were dropped\u00a0in 2024<\/a>\u00a0after he reached a deal with the Houston prosecutors assigned to the case.<\/p>\n Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at\u00a0clove@kera.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n