Maureen Galindo, who is running for a House seat in the newly redrawn 35th Congressional District, posted a video on Facebook days after criticizing wealthy supporters of Israel. She claimed that following her initial remarks, she received hundreds of “death threats” and other “vile” messages.<\/p>\n
“I never said I want Jews in internment camps,” Galindo said. “I said I want to close all ICE detention centers and put billionaire American Zionists who are funding the genocidal prison systems involved in trafficking into prison.”<\/p>\n
“If they committed a crime<\/a>, do they not belong in prison?” she added.<\/p>\n TEXAS DEMOCRAT MAUREEN GALINDO FACES BACKLASH FOR PLEDGING TO IMPRISON ‘AMERICAN ZIONISTS’ AT ICE FACILITY<\/a><\/p>\n Maureen Galindo and Johnny Garcia, candidates for U.S. House District 35, participate in a forum held by the League of Women Voters of the San Antonio Area in the Sidney Board Room at Brooks in San Antonio on May 6, 2026. (Katina Zentz\/San Antonio Express-News)<\/p>\n “I’m against all internment camps and would like to see them all shut down ASAP, starting with the many in South Texas,” Galindo said, referring to U.S. Immigration<\/a> and Custom Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities.<\/p>\n Galindo accused the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) of coordinating statements against her in an effort to back her primary runoff opponent, Johnny Garcia, a former hostage negotiator and public information officer for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office. She also accused a local journalist, whom she claimed “literally wants me dead,” of fabricating the “internment camps” comment.<\/p>\n The backlash began when Galindo stated in an Instagram post earlier this month that she would turn the “Karnes ICE Detention Center into a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking.”<\/p>\n DEMOCRATS VOW TO VOTE ‘EVERY SINGLE DAY’ TO EXPEL FELLOW DEM FROM CONGRESS IF SHE WINS MIDTERM<\/a><\/p>\n “It will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles, which will probably be most of the Zionists,” Galindo wrote.<\/p>\n In other social media posts, Galindo, a family therapist and housing advocate, accused Garcia of wanting “Jews and Mexicans in warehouses.” She also accused “billionaire Zionists” of controlling trafficking networks in San Antonio and South Texas.<\/p>\n The condemnation was swift. Notable Democrats have distanced themselves from her, including Texas State Representative James Talarico, U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez<\/a>, D-N.Y.<\/p>\n Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., blamed Republicans for Democratic congressional candidate Maureen Galindo’s “antisemitic” rant. Galindo is in the center. (Katina Zentz\/San Antonio Express-News via Getty Images; Sven Hoppe\/picture alliance via Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n TEXAS DEM SENATE PRIMARY FRACTURES OVER RACE RHETORIC AS \u2018MEDIOCRE\u2019 JAB, \u2018OPPRESSOR\u2019 REMARKS IGNITE BACKLASH<\/a><\/p>\n Additionally, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene issued a joint statement calling her rhetoric “vile” and “disqualifying.”<\/p>\n![\"Maureen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779431051_317_maureen-galindo-johnny-garcia-forum-fox-news-001.jpeg\")
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