At least three reports of anti-Kamala Harris flyers have been filed with the San Marcos Police Department (SMPD) according to San Marcos Communications in an email to The Star.
According to SMPD, they are working with the FBI to investigate the incidents and find the individuals responsible.
The flyers read: “YOU have been identified and are now in our National Database of miscreant Harris supporters, either by social interactions with your neighbors who are on our investigations team, or by yard signs, or vehicle bumper stickers. Rather than the hangman’s nooses of the old days, you are now guaranteed that once the magnificent Donald Trump assumes the Presidency again YOU will be IRS tax audited going all the way back to your very first tax return – and at a minimum – 4 years of painful misery and attorney’s fees.”
The flyers were signed by “The Grand Dragon of Trump Klan #124; San Marcos, TX.” According to the Bullock Museum, a Grand Dragon is the highest ranking Ku Klux Klan (KKK) member in Texas. It is currently unconfirmed if the flyers are connected to the KKK.
Though it is unconfirmed if it was a group who put out the flyers, or just an individual, San Marcos Mayor Jane Hughson said the behavior is concerning.
“Even if it’s a lone wolf, it scares me that there’s someone out there with that mindset,” Hughson said.
A San Marcos resident, granted anonymity for safety reasons, said a letter was left on their Harris/Walz sign when they were not home. They first learned about the letter from neighbors on Friday, Oct. 25.
“I first thought it was a joke, and then I thought, ‘No, this is voter intimidation. This is not a joke.’ And if somebody thinks it’s a joke, they’re totally mistaken about that,” the resident said.
The resident said they initially contacted SMPD, who came the next day to collect the letter as evidence. They also spoke with an FBI agent about the incident, but it is unclear if this is being treated as a voter intimidation case. Under 18 U.S.C. 594, voter intimidation is a federal crime which can be punished with a fine and up to one year in jail.
The resident said there was no unusual behavior in the neighborhood leading up to the incident.
“[There was] no activity at all,” the resident said. “I mean, there are other [Harris/Walz] signs that are up, so the fact that they chose mine is sort of random, right?”
Chairman for the Hays County Democratic Party John Hatch said he received multiple reports of similar incidents.
“We’ve actually had one report of a local Democrat who had a sign in their yard, and a person actually knocked on their door and basically gave them the same verbal warning that was on the letter,” Hatch said.
Hatch said he doesn’t believe voters should be intimidated by the messages left on their political signs, or change their voting behavior because of it.
“I want to be very clear, everybody needs to remember that your vote is secret. So all these threats of ‘we’re watching you,’ and any of that kind of stuff, they don’t know how you vote,” Hatch said.
The Hays County Republican Party did not respond to a request for comment.
According to David Levy, a political science assistant professor of instruction, the claims made in the letter are likely baseless.
“I don’t believe that it’s possible or legal for that to have been a true statement, but who knows what’s in the mind of the person to convey this information?” Levy said.
Before becoming a faculty member, Levy worked as the Archer County attorney and served as an elected mayor for Archer City. He said that in all his time in civil service, he had never seen an incident like this.
“I have seen misinformation in political campaigns, but that’s a different issue that’s attempting to discredit the candidate versus threatening the well-being of an individual voter,” Levy said.
The Hays County Elections Office did not respond to a request for comment.
