Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton spoke at the Supreme Court building in Washington, June 9, 2016. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)
The lawsuit asks a court to dissolve Jolt’s charter and revoke its ability to do business in Texas.
In response, Jolt has sued Paxton and filed a motion for a preliminary injunction against him, accusing the attorney general of engaging in a retaliatory campaign aimed at revoking the organization’s corporate charter.
The group said Paxton's lawsuit is "direct retaliation for Jolt’s protected First Amendment activities, including its voter registration drives and its previous federal lawsuit challenging an intrusive document demand from the Attorney General’s office."
"Let the record show that the Texas Attorney General is using the power of his office to silence Latino voters," said Jackie Bastard, Jolt's executive director. "After we challenged his first unconstitutional attempt to intimidate us, he escalated his attack by moving straight to the corporate ‘death penalty’, seeking to revoke our ability to exist. The state's quo warranto petition is explicitly retaliatory, citing our voter registration activity and prior lawsuit as a reason for its filing."
Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton (left) has launched an investigation into 33 potential noncitizens allegedly voting in the 2024 general election. (Justin Lane/Reuters; AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)
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"We refuse to be bullied. We are asking the federal court to intervene immediately to protect our First Amendment right to speak, associate, and petition the government, and to ensure we can continue our vital work of civic engagement," said Maria Tolentino, director of programs at Jolt.
Paxton’s office launched an investigation last year into Jolt and other groups over similar claims. Paxton demanded documents and information from Jolt, which sued the state over concerns about placing its workers and volunteers in harm's way.
In October, a Texas election review identified thousands of illegal immigrants on the state's voter rolls, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson said. A cross-check of state voter records found that more than 2,700 possible illegal immigrants were registered on the voter rolls, Nelson said, leading to an eligibility review across the 254 counties.
Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to louis.casiano@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/texas-ag-ken-paxton-sues-latino-voter-group-jolt-allegedly-registering-illegal-immigrants