As the right-wing continues to try and make political hay out of the murder of Charlie Kirk, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is snatching the chance to fluff up his own political aspirations for the Senate by “launch[ing] undercover investigations into various groups affiliated with left-wing political violence known to be operating in Texas.”
The announcement came via press release from Paxton’s office Tuesday morning (Oct. 7) in which he calls Kirk, a right-wing commentator known for racist, misogynistic, xenophobic and homo/transphobic rhetoric, “a national hero” and touted Donald Trump’s “designation of antifa as a domestic terrorist organization.” The press release was titled, “Attorney General Ken Paxton Launches Undercover Operations to Infiltrate and Uproot Leftist Terror Cells in Texas After Increased Political Violence.”
“Leftist political terrorism is a clear and present danger,” Paxton declared in the press release. “Corrupted ideologies like transgenderism and Antifa are a cancer on our culture and have unleashed their de-ranged and drugged-up foot soldiers on the American people.”
“Leftist political terrorism is a clear and present danger. Corrupted ideologies like transgenderism and Antifa are a cancer on our culture and have unleashed their de-ranged and drugged-up foot soldiers on the American people.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton
(Important to point out here that the suspect accused of murdering Kirk had a right-wing background, rather than being a “leftist terrorist.” Same goes for the vast majority of those accused in incidents of politically motivated violence, like for instance, Vance Boelter, the man charged with the political assassination of Wisconsin state Rep. and House Democratic Leader Melissa Hortman and her husband (and their trained service dog) and critically wounding Democratic Sen. John Hoffman and his wife that same night, and who reportedly had a “hit list” of other Wisconsin Democrats, including openly lesbian U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin.)
“The martyrdom of Charlie Kirk marks a turning point in America. There can be no compromise with those who want us dead. To that end, I have directed my office to continue its efforts to identify, investigate, and infiltrate these leftist terror cells,” Paxton added. “To those demented souls who seek to kill, steal and destroy our country, know this: you cannot hide, you cannot escape, and justice is coming.”
OK. First things first: Maybe it’s just me, but if I were the state’s “top law enforcement official” and I were planning on sending undercover spies into dangerous extremist organizations,” I don’t think I would announce that publicly and brag about it. Again, maybe that’s just me, and maybe if I were running for the U.S. Senate and thought such announcement would win votes, I might make a big announcement and strut and pose about it, too.
More important details here: Ken Paxton is a criminal who sidestepped federal securities fraud charges by agreeing a bunch of money in “restitution” and going back to lawyer school. He was impeached by a GOP-controlled Texas House of Representatives in 2023 over allegations that he used his office to, among other things, bribe an Austin businessman and get his mistresses hired at the man’s company.
Paxton has been (is being?) investigated for abusing the powers of his elected office, and he and his soon-to-be-ex-wife appear to have committed tax fraud by claiming homestead exemptions on more than of their properties.
And by the way, his wife, Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, filed to end their 38-year-marriage in July, saying that based on “recent discoveries,” she was filing for divorce “on biblical grounds.” Given the “recent discoveries” caveat in Paxton’s filing, we were all pretty sure she was not leaving him over his earlier affair with Laura Olsen, the mistress for whom he used bribery to get a job, and — sure enough — word has since leaked that Paxton has been having another affair, this one with reportedly with married “Christian influencer” and author Tracy Duhon, mother of seven children — well, “formerly married Christian influencer,” since she filed for divorce after meeting Paxton and spending the weekend with him at the Kentucky Derby — whose “work on social media includes counseling people through tragedies using the power of prayer,” according to Yahoo News reports.
None of those things have kept Paxton from trying to paint himself as a hero of Christian morality and uprightness over the last several years as he has apparently been maneuvering to position himself for his current run to unseat incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the 2026 GOP Primary. The LGBTQ+ community — especially transgender women and men — have been one of Paxton’s favorite targets in his ongoing efforts to kiss Donald Trump’s ass and rile up the right-wing voter base he is relying on to unseat Cornyn.
John Cornyn has represented Texas in the U.S. Senate since 2002 and was, before the rise of MAGA, considered to be one of the Senate’s more conservative members. Obviously, though, he is not radically right-wing enough to suit the MAGA voter base.
Just yesterday (Monday, Dec. 6), Wesley Hunt, a Republican congressman from Houston, announced that he, too, was entering the Primary battle for the senate seat. Hunt is described by The Texas Tribune as “a close ally” of Trump. So it could be interesting to see who can out-MAGA the other between Hunt and Paxton.
But anyway, back to “infiltrating antifa” (Here’s another “by the way” for you: antifa is an ideology, not an organization):
Paxton continued to puff out his chest and posture with his press release, which declared, “The radical Left has incubated an environment where political violence is not only justified but celebrated and praised. In July, nearly two dozen armed leftists connected to various Texas-based Antifa-like groups ambushed an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) facility in Alvarado, Texas. On September 10, 2025, a leftist assassin connected to the radical transgender movement murdered Charlie Kirk because of Kirk’s bold support for truth, love of country, and unshakable faith [The suspect in the Charlie Kirk murder has not been actually connected to any radical transgender movement but has been connected to Nick Fuentes’ right-wing “groyper” group]. Two weeks later, another deranged leftist opened fire at an ICE facility in Dallas. [There has been no actual motive determined in connection with the shooting in Dallas, although very suspicious “evidence” consisting of unfired rifle shells with “Anti-ICE” written on them is being touted. Oh, and only immigrants were targeted, not any ICE agents].”
The press release continues, “President Donald Trump has officially designated Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization and instructed his administration to ‘utilize all applicable authorities to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle any and all illegal operations — especially those involving terrorist actions — conducted by Antifa.’ Building on President Trump’s bold actions, Attorney General Paxton has instructed his office to initiate sweeping investigations into radical leftist organizations engaged in or providing support to those performing political violence.”
Just wondering: Is there any rule or law or policy or something against elected officials using the power of their office to show off in hopes of winning election to a different, higher office?
— Tammye Nash