In the weeks leading up to the November 3 midterm ballot, the Transgender Education Network of Texas (known as TENT) discovered that thousands of Texans had received mailers and text messages that falsely claimed to represent the organization. The materials urged parents to step aside, suggested emancipation for minors, and promoted out-of-state gender-affirming care – messages that TENT says it never authored or approved.
Reacting to what it calls a “coordinated impersonation campaign,” TENT filed a petition on October 22 in the 345th District Court of Travis County. The filing, made under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 202, asks the court for permission to depose representatives of two entities that appear on the suspicious communications: a Wyoming-registered limited-liability company called Texas Transgender Student Union LLC and the telecommunications firm Infobip LLC. The goal, according to TENT’s attorney Mimi Marziani, is to secure evidence before a full lawsuit is filed and to obtain an emergency order that could stop further unauthorized outreach before Election Day.
What the deceptive materials contained
The campaign began with text blasts on October 12 and 13. Recipients were directed to TENT’s website without any sender identification, and the messages referenced topics such as “safe adults,” emancipation procedures, and traveling out of state for care. A week later, around October 17, a glossy brochure titled “Texas Trans & LGBTQ+ Student Resource Guide” started appearing in mailboxes across the state. The pamphlet used TENT’s logo, photographs of its board members, and the same color scheme found on the nonprofit’s official site, creating a convincing illusion of authenticity.
According to the petition, the flyers were specifically addressed to the “student” of a household, and many were sent to homes that had already begun early voting. The guide encouraged minors to seek “a safe adult” if their parents were unsupportive and even included language about filing for emancipation – a step that would legally make a minor an adult. TENT insists that none of its published resources ever advise emancipation; its actual materials focus on navigating state bathroom statutes, understanding Child Protective Services procedures, and offering factual information about existing Texas laws.
Who might be behind the operation
The return address on the mailers mimicked TENT’s official address, but the sender line listed the “Texas Transgender Student Union.” A search of the Wyoming Secretary of State’s database revealed that the union was incorporated on September 2 and lists a registered-agent address in Sheridan, Wyoming – an address widely used by out-of-state companies and flagged in prior investigations as a hub for questionable enterprises. Because Wyoming allows anonymity for LLC owners, tracing the true principals is difficult without court intervention.
TENT also pointed to two service providers it believes facilitated the campaign. First, a cease-and-desist letter was sent to SnailWorks, a Maryland-based firm that supplies barcode and tracking services for mailed political literature. SnailWorks responded that it merely provides scan data supplied by the U.S. Postal Service and does not create, print, or distribute content. The firm’s name appeared in the postal barcode on at least two of the flyers examined by a U.S. Postal Service employee, linking it indirectly to the operation.
Second, TENT targeted Infobip LLC, a global communications platform that controlled the phone numbers used for the October 12-13 text blasts. After a demand letter, Infobip agreed to block the numbers but declined to reveal the account holder’s identity. This refusal left TENT with limited options to trace the origin of the messages without a subpoena.
Impact on the organization and the broader election
The fallout has been severe. In a declaration attached to the petition, TENT Deputy Director Andrea Segovia described an “onslaught of hate and violent threats” that poured in through the group’s social-media channels and email accounts. The harassment forced the nonprofit to take its online resource hub offline, suspend a statewide voter-engagement campaign, and divert unbudgeted funds to security measures. The organization maintains that the timing of the mailers – coinciding with early voting – suggests a political motive aimed at inflaming the already heated debate over transgender rights in Texas.
Republican figures, including candidate Jon Bonck for Texas’s 38th Congressional District, have seized on the pamphlets, labeling them “disgusting and evil” and accusing the “radical left” of trying to “brainwash” Texas children. Democrats and civil-rights advocates, on the other hand, argue that the fake flyers are a calculated ploy to rally conservative voters in a midterm cycle where Democratic candidates are polling stronger than in recent history.
State Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano) has already written to the attorney general, requesting a probe into whether TENT violated any state statutes. He later clarified that new information suggests the communications may not have originated from any group bearing the TENT name, underscoring the need for a thorough investigation.
By seeking court-ordered depositions of the Wyoming LLC and Infobip, TENT hopes to uncover the hidden backers of the campaign, halt the spread of misinformation before Election Day, and restore a measure of safety for its staff and the communities it serves.
