AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A conservative power broker told Texas’ governor to have National Guard troops “shoot to kill” amid protests last month against racial injustice and police brutality.
The Texas Tribune reports that Steve Hotze left that message in a voicemail to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s chief of staff on the weekend of June 6. Hotze acknowledged the comment in a Facebook post Saturday, writing “it’s not about race.” Republican Sen. John Cornyn called the voicemail “absolutely disgusting and reprehensible.”
Abbott’s office declined to comment to the Tribune and did not immediately respond to a public records request for the voicemail.
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