FORT WORTH — The True Texas Project celebrated its 15th anniversary over the weekend, triumphing over detractors’ attempts to spoil the occasion.
Many may recall that the True Texas Project (TTP) was set to hold its 15 Years Strong Birthday Party & Conference at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. However, the event ran into an issue when venue management, the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT), canceled the booking following criticism from left-leaning media outlet The Texas Tribune. Conference topics like “Christian Nationalism” and “Great Replacement Theory” were reportedly points of controversy.
The City of Fort Worth, which owns the Fort Worth Botanic Garden property, became involved. City officials overruled BRIT, reinstating TTP’s booking. The entire backstory can be read here.
I attended the conference to see what was so controversial. Upon arrival Friday evening, a dozen protesters and half a dozen Fort Worth police and security officers greeted the TTP guests.
A man who had a firearm strapped across his chest and his face covered yelled “B*TCH!” at me as I drove past.
Ironically, the protesters appeared to be rallying against hate and white supremacy, but they were seemingly the only ones expressing any hate or superiority complex the entire weekend.
By the following morning, the protesters had grown by 100, and the police presence was formidable.
Armed with guns, drums, and megaphones, the protesters held signs that read such things as “TTP White Supremacists GET OUT,” “RITTENHOUSE IS A RACIST MURDERER,” “FW Botanical Gardens is HOSTING Christian Nationalist HATE GROUP True Texas Project,” “SMASH FASCISM!” “NAZIS GET OUT NOW,” and “My Grandchildren are SAFER with a DRAG QUEEN than with a ‘STRAIGHT WHITE CHRISTIAN’ MAN.”
I approached the crowd of protesters to see what they were so upset about. I had read their signs, but I was curious to understand how they thought hate was an effective means to draw attention to their cause.
Accompanied, I asked who among the protesters was in charge. Everyone I spoke with gave me the same answer: Dave.
Finding Dave, I asked if I could have a moment of his time. He questioned what outlet I was with, excused himself, and came back, saying he had to check to see if The Dallas Express was an outlet he would be willing to speak with. I was thankful he agreed and pleased to find him gracious and polite with his time.
His full name is David Michael Smith. He came from Houston with his wife, Rona Smith, and many other protesters affiliated with the Houston United Front Against Fascism.
I asked Smith why he and this group of protesters were out in such force for the TTP event.
“We are here to oppose True Texas Project and all their fascist friends at their conference,” said Smith.
When asked what about TTP has led him to believe that they are a group of fascists, he said, “This organization has been pushing the Republican Party to the far right in Texas for 15 years. Now they are openly embracing this Nazi rhetoric about there being a war on white people in this country. It’s like, let’s stop right there. Our country has lots of issues, and one big problem is systemic racism, and that is against black and brown people. There is no war against white people. If we embrace Nazi rhetoric, you are likely to draw out Nazis and other fascists to your event. And that is what we are seeing today.”
“What has given you that impression so far?” I asked.
“Well, we know that Kyle Rittenhouse is here, and he has already killed two people at the Black Lives Matter protest a few years ago. There is a whole host of other invited speakers on the fringes on the far right. You have Holocaust admirers; you have all sorts of other people.”
When I asked why his group was okay with giving people who drive by the finger and shouting “white supremacists,” “fascists,” or vulgar terms of derision at them, he could not answer.
So, I went to his wife, Rona.
I found Rona to be equally polite and kind, despite having to wait for her to finish screaming in a megaphone, “Fasicts, Get Out!” as a car drove into the event parking lot.
When I asked why she was messaging the way she was, she informed me that her husband was good at explaining the “why” and that she was good at “doing what she does” — which appeared to be screaming at people on the megaphone.
I pressed a little more, wanting to give Rona the benefit of the doubt and try to understand her “why.”
“As a Jewish woman and a member of Houston United Front Against Fascism, I believe that there seems to be [a resurgence] of fascism activity in this country. It has always been here, but it is really coming up right now because of Trump and other factors, and this meeting that TTP is having here today is kind of a smaller, maybe more acceptable version of Charlottesville Unite the Right. [The TTP is] uniting the right. The platforms that they are proposing and putting forth are true fascist platforms. And I am here today to say never again.”
“Explain what you mean by true fascist platforms,” I asked Rona.
“They are putting forth a belief, and idea, that white people are being taken over in this country, and they want to take back America for white Christians. They believe that diversity takes away from them. One of their goals is to recapture this country for white Christians, mostly men. They want to create a second-class citizenship for women and definitely for all other people,” claimed Rona.
“Can you explain Christian nationalism from your perspective?” I asked.
“Basically, those are nice words for saying you are a Christian white supremacist. They believe our society should be Christian and white; very simply, that is their belief. This is not a theocracy,” said Rona.
“Well, I look forward to attending the conference and learning about the topics you and your husband have brought to my attention. Thank you for sharing your story and for your time,” I said.
And I did just that. I attended the conference, listened to the talks, spoke to several attendees, and interviewed almost every speaker one-on-one. I will follow up with several articles about what was advocated for at the conference, as well as what the grassroots organization did not promote.
Stay tuned.