Collin County Democrats Call Transgender Mailers a ‘Con’; Text Provider Suspends Messages

By R.J. Morales | TX3DNews

McKINNEY, Texas — Collin County Democratic Party Chairman Jeremy Sutka called the transgender-related mailers and text messages circulating across Texas a “con” Wednesday, accusing those behind them of trying to manipulate voters during early voting.

“The people behind this invented a group, impersonated a real one, and put fear in your mailbox in the middle of an election,” Sutka said. “They are not trying to help anyone. They are trying to manipulate voters who they think are easier to scare than to persuade.”

His statement came as communications company Infobip confirmed it had suspended the text-message traffic.

Sutka said Republican and Hispanic households received the materials, although who financed their distribution and how recipients were selected remain unknown.

A Mystery Sender and Local Complaints

The pamphlets, titled Texas Trans & LGBTQ+ Student Resource Guide, identify the sender as the Texas Transgender Student Union. They discuss gender identity, parental involvement and emancipation while directing readers to established advocacy organizations.

Sutka accused those responsible of emphasizing emancipation and out-of-state medical care to provoke fear and outrage rather than provide resources.

The Texas Tribune reported that a company named Texas Transgender Student Union LLC was registered in Wyoming on September 2. Its ultimate ownership remains unidentified.

The pamphlets also list a return address in Meadows Place, a Houston suburb, associated with a commercial mailbox, according to fact-checking organization Lead Stories.

A Dallas-Fort Worth-area resident said she received one of the pamphlets October 17 and contacted the Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT), which she said confirmed it had not sent the material.

The resident also reported filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and contacting the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. She provided photographs of the pamphlet.

TENT has publicly denied authorizing or distributing the materials.

“These text messages and mailers were not authored, authorized, approved, or distributed by TENT,” the organization stated.

Other advocacy organizations named in the pamphlets have also denied involvement.

“Collin County Democrats will not take the bait,” Sutka said. “We are not running against transgender Texans. We are running for fully funded public schools, affordable healthcare, and an end to corruption.”

Text Messages Prompt State Investigation

Before the pamphlets appeared, Texans received unsolicited text messages linking to TENT’s Back to School Toolkit. The organization denied sending them.

On October 13, State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, asked Attorney General Ken Paxton to investigate whether the messages encouraged violations of Senate Bill 12, the Texas Parents’ Bill of Rights.

The following day, Leach’s office was asked what evidence connected TENT to the texts, whether the organization’s denial changed his position and which provisions of SB 12 he believed the toolkit encouraged people to violate.

The inquiry also asked whether Leach would support investigating the actual sender if TENT was not responsible. His office did not respond.

Leach subsequently told the Texas Tribune he remained “very interested to see what that investigation uncovers.”

Infobip Suspends Text Message Traffic

Efforts to identify who sent the messages also focused on the telephone numbers used. Carrier lookups identified two numbers, (682) 877-9656 and (432) 324-9901, as OpenMarket lines.

OpenMarket, a business messaging provider, was acquired by international communications company Infobip in 2020.

On October 14, Infobip was asked to verify the numbers, identify the registered customer and explain whether it had received complaints or restricted the messages.

On October 21, Marlies Roest, Infobip’s director of global external communications, confirmed the company had suspended the traffic.

“Upon becoming aware of the issue, we took immediate action. We have suspended the traffic in question and are actively monitoring the situation to prevent further occurrences,” Roest wrote.

She said Infobip acted solely as a transmission provider and “did not author or originate the content of the messages in question.”

Roest also confirmed that Infobip was cooperating with TENT’s attorney but declined to disclose specific details, citing confidentiality obligations. The company did not identify the customer or specify when the suspension occurred.

TENT had sent cease-and-desist letters to Infobip and Peerless Network on October 14, seeking to stop messages the organization said were sent without its authorization.

Questions Remain Before Election Day

Although Infobip has stopped the messaging traffic, the people responsible for sending the texts and pamphlets have not been publicly identified. It remains unclear whether both were part of the same operation.

Who financed the materials, how recipients were selected and whether the campaign was intended to influence the November 3 election have yet to be established.

The Collin County Republican Party was also contacted for comment but had not responded as of publication. This article will be updated if a response is received.