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Pizzagate 2…another big win for General Flynn…
A sign at the National Butterfly Center lists all the laws Trump had waived for his border wall. pic.twitter.com/cykM0IDspz
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) February 3, 2022
RT: A US butterfly sanctuary has shut down indefinitely, citing security concerns after allegedly being targeted by supporters of former president Donald Trump. The private facility in Texas had been the subject of sex trafficking and illegal migration claims reportedly linked to the QAnon movement.
These MAGA lunatics always make some innocuous outfit the center of their ridiculous insane conspiracies, because they know a pizza parlor or a butterfly center can't fight back. https://t.co/zzR1CRyEVW
— Stonekettle (@Stonekettle) February 3, 2022
The National Butterfly Center, which is situated at the Rio Grande riverbank on the US-Mexico border, said in a statement on Wednesday that it will close down “for the immediate future” due to “disruption caused by false and defamatory attacks directed by political operatives.”
UPDATE: The National Butterfly Center on the Texas border is closing “for the immediate future” after conspiracy-fueled threats against the center escalated in recent days. https://t.co/vi9KSIEi7e
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) February 2, 2022
Last week, there was a temporary closure at the sanctuary because of “credible threats” related to a meeting of border security advocates in the neighboring city of McAllen that apparently saw the participation of Trump supporters, including former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Texas butterfly sanctuary closes due to conspiracy threats https://t.co/59S3xHt4Om pic.twitter.com/k0qbdHyDUT
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 3, 2022
According to Reuters, the center had come under fire from Trump supporters after filing a lawsuit in 2017 against the former president’s plan to build a border wall on the grounds that it would infringe on its property. The complaint claimed the wall would “effectively [destroy]” the 100-acre nature preserve.
The sex trafficking and illegal migrant smuggling accusations were apparently repeated by ‘conspiracy theorists’ who arrived at the sanctuary in recent days, its Executive Director Marianna Trevino-Wright told media outlets. Two women reportedly demanded access to off-limits areas to observe “illegals crossing on rafts,” while Trevino-Wright released audio of one woman accusing the center of facilitating child sexual abuse.
A scuffle apparently ensued during that incident, while other individuals have posted attacks on the center on social media. The AFP reported that “several right-wing activists” had shared videos of themselves in front of the sanctuary.
“We don’t think the threat has passed,” Trevino-Wright told AFP on Wednesday, alleging repeated “provocations” from such individuals. She added that the center feared the accusations would push someone to “take action.”
Noting that “the safety of our staff and visitors is our primary concern,” Jeffrey Glassberg, president of the North American Butterfly Association, which runs the center, said that it hoped to reopen after “authorities and professionals who are helping us navigate this situation give us the green light.”
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