The National Butterfly Center is a nonprofit dedicated to the conservation and study of wild butterflies.
This weekend, they’re closed after a scrape with a GOP candidate led to “credible threats” against their staff.
✏️ @caylajharris
📷 @ExpressNews
➡️houstonchronicle.com/news/legislatu…
This weekend, they’re closed after a scrape with a GOP candidate led to “credible threats” against their staff.
✏️ @caylajharris
📷 @ExpressNews
➡️houstonchronicle.com/news/legislatu…
@caylajharris @ExpressNews @NatButterflies @NatButterflies’ executive director made the decision after a confrontation last week with @kim4va, a Republican congressional candidate from Virginia, who was hunting for border chaos. houstonchronicle.com/news/legislatu…
Marianna Wright told police that Kimberly Lowe visited the center in Texas and demanded to see “illegals crossing on rafts,” echoing baseless conspiracy theories linking the butterfly sanctuary to sex trafficking. houstonchronicle.com/news/legislatu…
According to an affidavit obtained by Hearst Newspapers, the exchange turned violent when Lowe began recording the incident on her phone. Wright said she “panicked” and grabbed the phone. Wright’s son said Lowe tackled her mother to the ground afterward. houstonchronicle.com/news/legislatu…
On any given day, hundreds of species of butterflies flit through the nonprofit sanctuary. Birders from across the country visit the refuge as well as thousands of local schoolchildren who take field trips to the center each year. Meanwhile ... houstonchronicle.com/news/legislatu…
Since 2019, right-wing social media trolls have falsely claimed there were dead bodies and “rampant sex trade” at the center. Some have threatened Wright. houstonchronicle.com/news/legislatu…
Wright has fended off conspiracy theorists for years, after the center filed suit against @DHSgov in 2017 over former President Donald Trump’s plans to build a border wall through the 100-acre nature preserve. houstonchronicle.com/news/legislatu…
Wright said she fears more of the same would occur if she were to keep the center open during this weekend’s “We Stand America” rally in neighboring McAllen. ➡️houstonchronicle.com/news/legislatu…
Lowe denies Wright’s version of the events, but the fallout has been immediate. Organizers for “We Stand America” banned her from attending. 🗣️“I can’t believe that the people who are supposed to be on my side of the aisle canceled me.” houstonchronicle.com/news/legislatu…
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