Thread by @cltomlinson

During #BannedBooksWeek, Lt. Gov. @DanPatrick is trying to cancel our book (Forget The Alamo) again — this time w/ a show trial masquerading as a panel. He says he doesn’t care whether we show up or not, he aims to make an example of us. THREAD:

He tried to do this little trial at @UTAustin, but they wriggled out of it. So now he’s falling back to his trusted propaganda outlet, @bullockmuseum, to cancel me and my coauthors @JasStanford and @BryanBurrough houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas…

We were supposed to talk at the Bullock on July 1, but Patrick used his office to cancel our book talk just three hours before it was to begin. As much as the GOP complains about cancel culture, this was a clear First Amendment violation. thestoryoftexas.com/press/press-re…

His general counsel confirmed @DanPatrick will hold his book debate/inquisition with or without us. He’s also stacking the “panel” with his experts, not one of them highly regarded in the study of Texas history.

But the letter informing us of all this is full of lies about us, our book and the so-called expert panel he’s assembled. So let me debunk them for you:

(Spoiler: The biggest lie is about @UTAustin’s attempt to put together a so-called “forum.”)

I spoke with @UTAustin’s top lobbyist, Andrea Sheridan from @JCHartzell’s office. I told her I would gladly participate in a panel on the role of slavery in the Texas Revolt with UT faculty. I gave her a list of names. She promised not to organize a kangaroo court.

When she got back to me, she only had three panelists, former Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who’s been trolling us for months, Dr. Stephen Hardin, a traditionalist from McMurray University, and @OfficialAlamo curator Ernesto Rodriguez. No one from my list.

She explained @UTAustin faculty would not participate because Hartzell wanted to appear neutral. I asked for a written invitation, but she said “I’d prefer to do this over the phone.” I said this sounds like a setup and insisted on an official invite. We never got one.

Instead, she tried to blame us for obstructing the panel. I wrote her this and never got a reply. The next thing I know, @DanPatrick’s lawyer is saying these so-called experts are going to condemn our book whether we show up or not. Because they all have axes to grind.

Hardin is a traditionalist who helped Phil Collins write a coffee table book about his Alamo artifacts. Our book exposes that the most high-profile items in the Collins collection do not have proper provenance. We got Hardin to admit this, which he regrets.

Patterson cut the deal with Collins, taking the collection hook-line-and-sinker at a $15 million valuation. He was clearly star-struck and made promises in public that contradict what the official contract says. He doesn’t want people reading our book.

Lastly, Rodriguez works @OfficialAlamo, which refuses to come clean about the problems with the Collins Collection. The Alamo management will not release their internal review and are spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to display it. expressnews.com/news/local/art…

Lastly, we embarrassed @DanPatrick by revealing how, to protect his career, he sabotaged current Land Commissioner @georgepbush’s Alamo renovation plan. Patrick instead brags about canceling our book in his campaign fundraising materials.

Perhaps the greatest irony is that the Bullock has scheduled the #ForgettheAlamo show trial for #BannedBooksWeek, when @PENamerica holds seminars to make Americans aware that censorship is still alive and well in the Land of the Free, especially in Texas.

We will not kiss @DanPatrick’s ring and participate in his politically motivated inquisition. We will not allow him to use our images in the dock of his show trial to raise money and show how he crushes dissent in Texas by canceling us.

Instead, I will be speaking at @PENamerica’s #BannedBooksWeek event in Austin on Sept. 28, and @BryanBurrough will speak at one in Dallas on Sept. 29. pen.org/events-calenda…? We stand for #FreeSpeech and will never submit to any oppressor.

#ForgettheAlamo is a New York Times bestseller praised by professional historians in @WSJ @NYTimes @washingtonpost. We will let our work speak for itself.