Battles with liberals are enduring and predictable, but what worries Fuller is the deepening rancor between Republican moderates and far-right conservatives over what America should look, sound and feel like.
May 10, An earlier version of this article said a police officer running for McKinney City Council had a conversation with Alonzo Tutson about being at the Capitol on Jan. The officer disputes that account and says he was not at the Capitol on Jan. Hard-line sentiments that would have been whispered only years ago are now spoken unabashed.
They just blend right in. Texas was home to three dozen of the alleged insurrectionists arrested in connection with the Jan. Capitol, tied with Pennsylvania for the most of any state, according to a study by terrorism experts at the University of Chicago.
Some of those who stormed the U. Capitol — including those arrested — insist they were there reporting as citizen journalists. All came from counties that had lost white populations in recent years. Their violent rhetoric targets foes both real and imagined. After the Capitol insurrection, some Black residents spotted white neighbors — including those in law enforcement — in videos and photos of the riot posted online.
The deputies were fired, but no one has been charged in connection with the killing. Local conservatives have focused instead on opposing pandemic mask mandates, business shutdowns and vaccines. They rallied around state proposals to allow permit-less gun ownership, expand voting restrictions and ban teaching critical race theory in schools. Efforts by Texas Republicans to pass voting restrictions tests the enduring relationship between the party and big business in the state.
