A court deposition that could have helped uncover who is behind fake transgender student brochures and text messages sent to Texas families was blocked Friday.
The deposition was scheduled as part of a legal effort by the Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT), a real Texas advocacy group whose name appeared on the brochures.
TENT’s attorney, Mimi Marziani, said the newly registered Texas Transgender Student Union LLC asked the Texas Supreme Court to stop the deposition.
The court granted the emergency request about 15 minutes before the deposition was scheduled to begin.
During a Friday media briefing, Marziani said new court information revealed two names connected to the text message campaign: the Republican Women Caucus Fund and a person named John Braun.
A Washington state senator and congressional candidate also has that name.
Marziani said both the Republican Women Caucus Fund and Braun have denied involvement. She also said there is no other evidence from the court proceedings confirming that the person named is the Washington state senator.
Marziani stressed that the information revealed in court relates to the text messages, not the brochures.
Marziani said the newly registered Texas Transgender Student Union LLC has admitted responsibility for the brochures.
However, she said there is still no direct evidence connecting that group to the text messages.
TENT says it had nothing to do with the materials and is trying to identify who is responsible for using its name.
There is also a criminal investigation underway by West Texas District Attorney Sarah Stagner.
Marziani said TENT is in contact with Stagner’s team and plans to cooperate.
She said TENT now believes it has enough information to move forward with a more substantial legal action.
The Texas Supreme Court has set a Monday morning deadline for responses to the emergency request that blocked Friday’s deposition.
