A controversial Texas Democrat running for a newly re-drawn congressional seat has pledged on social media to transform an ICE detention center into an internment camp for 'American Zionists.' Maureen Galindo, 38, has faced backlash for her repeated antisemitic remarks as she faces off against former Bexar County Public Information Officer Johnny Garcia in a Democratic primary runoff election on May 26.
She doubled down on those remarks in an Instagram post last week, stating she would convert the Karnes ICE Detention Center south of San Antonio 'into a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking.' She added, 'It will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles, which will probably be most of the Zionists.'
The post drew swift condemnation on social media. Congressman Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat from Florida, quipped, 'We went faster to concentration camps than I expected.' Elise Stefanik, a New York congresswoman and chair of House GOP Leadership, expressed shock, writing, 'I am rarely shocked. But this heinous antisemitic statement is truly shocking. Every elected Democrat needs to publicly condemn this immediately.'
Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego stated that Galindo 'should never be allowed into any political office,' while New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the post 'absolutely disgusting.' Ocasio-Cortez urged residents of the district to vote for Galindo's opponent, writing on X, 'This bigoted garbage and antisemitism should be nowhere near our politics. And the donors behind the Republican super PAC funding her should be exposed.'
Galindo, a self-described 'single mom of three,' has received support from Lean Left, a new Florida-based super PAC with unclear origins that has been linked to Republicans, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. She came in first in a heated March primary for Texas' 35th district with 29.2 percent of the vote, while Garcia received 27 percent.
As the two now face off, Galindo has accused Garcia of participating in a human trafficking conspiracy orchestrated by billionaire Zionist Jews. She shared a picture of Garcia standing in front of US and Israeli flags, claiming he 'took money from Israel to get into Congress and fund Israeli wars.' She even pledged during a recent Texas Public Radio interview to put Garcia on trial for treason.
Galindo has claimed she only has issues with Zionists, those who support the idea of a Jewish homeland in Israel, rather than Jewish people in general. She argued that 'coordinated media attacks declaring my anti-Zionist rhetoric as antisemitic' were 'causing MORE harm to the Jews of San Antonio by playing into all the stigmas that they own the media.' She continued, 'Zionists WANT us to blame all Jews to shield them from violence they perpetrate on Semites across the Middle East. I'm not falling for it, and will continue to protect all Jews from their corrupted leaders by constantly reminding folks that it's NOT ALL JEWS. We need to be LOUD about our anti-Zionism in these times to protect our neighbors.'
However, Galindo has repeated antisemitic tropes that Jews control the media. She told Texas Public Radio, 'I'm against Zionist Jews. When I said that the Jews who own Hollywood are doing this, do all Jews own Hollywood? No. The Zionist Jews do. The Zionist Jews own our media, our banks and all of our politicians.' She added, 'There's plenty of evidence for what I'm saying in the Epstein files.'
The Jewish Federation of San Antonio has 'strongly condemns the spread of antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories in public discourse. Divisive and hateful rhetoric targeting the Jewish community has no place in our civic life.' Democratic Texas State Representative James Talarico said he would not campaign with Galindo even if she wins the runoff, stating, 'This antisemitic rhetoric has no place in our politics. We need leadership in both parties willing to stand up and call out hate wherever it rears its ugly head.' John Lira, who lost to Galindo in the primary, rescinded his endorsement of her amid her comments.
Two Republicans are also facing off in their own primary later this month for the chance to run in the general election for a newly created Texas Congressional seat. One GOP candidate is Carlos De La Cruz, brother of current Republican US Representative Monica De La Cruz, and the other is John Lujan, who was the top vote-getter in the GOP primary. The newly drawn district is a competitive seat in the general election, with an R+4 rating per the Cook Political Report's Partisan Voting Index. Texas Republicans passed a new congressional district map in August last year, following a Department of Justice claim that four Democratic-led districts were racially gerrymandered. The remapped districts could flip as many as five Democratic seats in this year's midterm elections, including Texas's 35th district.
