Texas Takes a Stand, Issues Powerful Statement Against Reported Calls To Tear Down Alamo
Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush issued a message to protesters threatening the Alamo: “Don’t mess with The Alamo.”
Bush, the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, was responding to social media rumors that protesters were demanding the historic site be torn down.
Protesters in San Antonio now demanding tearing down The Alamo.
— Robert Barnes (@Barnes_Law) June 13, 2020
“The Alamo is the Shrine of Texas Liberty. And it will be defended. My office is closely watching the social media posts and rumors from protestors who are threatening to come to The Alamo,” Bush said in a June 13 statement on Twitter.
“Rest assured we have already deployed, for several weeks and will continue to do so, the Alamo Rangers in partnership with SAPD, The Department of Public Safety and The National Guard to protect this sacred site.
“My message to the protestors is simple: Don’t mess with The Alamo.”
Don’t mess with the Alamo. pic.twitter.com/oqDM8wUOrT
— George P. Bush (@georgepbush) June 13, 2020
Bush told Fox News that protests in response to the death of George Floyd, who died on May 25 after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest, had come close to the grounds of The Alamo and there was an elevated threat from so-called anti-fascist protesters who sought to tear down statues and monuments.
“We responded in kind with the show of force to send a very clear message that you don’t mess with Texas and you don’t mess with the Alamo,” he said.
This morning I joined @kilmeade on #FoxAndFriends to talk about threats to the Alamo and what we’re doing to protect it. Don’t mess with Texas, and don’t mess with the Alamo. pic.twitter.com/YFS6THcHsm
— George P. Bush (@georgepbush) June 15, 2020
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick criticized Bush’s management of the San Antonio monument hours after Bush’s appearance on Fox News.
“Nobody has put the @OfficialAlamo at more risk than @georgepbush with the outrageous ‘reimagining’ plan, lousy management, lack of transparency and moving the cenotaph,” he tweeted.
A group of protesters did rally at the Alamo on the afternoon of June 13, but they were protesting the Alamo Master Plan to relocate the Alamo Cenotaph, KSAT-TV reported.
The cenotaph was built in 1939 as a memorial for those who fought during the Battle of the Alamo.
Protesters have torn down several statues and vandalized memorials in cities across the country in response to Floyd’s death.
Statues of several Confederate figures, as well as former President Thomas Jefferson and Christopher Columbus, have all been torn down.
The Alamo Cenotaph was vandalized with red spray-painted graffiti on May 29, The Associated Press reported.
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