Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush issued a warning to protesters in response to rumors they may target the Alamo.
On Saturday, Bush, the son of former presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, warned protesters not to desecrate the Alamo, a historic Spanish mission in San Antonio that became the site of a famous battle during the Texas Revolution in 1836.
“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 protesters who are threatening to come to The Alamo,” the younger Bush said in a 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 protesters is simple: Don’t mess with the Alamo,” he said.
Bush added a photograph of a group of law enforcement in front of the Alamo, tagging the Texas Department of Public Safety and San Antonio Police Department.
@SATXPolice @TxDPS @OfficialAlamo pic.twitter.com/XIOl0IpVA6
— George P. Bush (@georgepbush) June 13, 2020
Protests have erupted across the nation since the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Memorial Day. Police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, while Floyd lay unresponsive on the ground for more than two minutes. Floyd was pronounced dead at a hospital.
In some cases, riots, looting, and arson have occurred within the orbit of protests over police brutality. Monuments in Washington, D.C., including the Lincoln Memorial and World War II Memorial, have been vandalized. And within the past 10 days, NASCAR announced a ban on the Confederate flag, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi renewed calls to have Confederate statues removed from the Capitol, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio insisted anything named after Robert E. Lee in his city “has to go,” and thousands of protesters across the country tore down Confederate monuments.
Bush was the first member of his family to commit to voting for President Trump in the 2020 election. “President Trump is the only thing standing between America and socialism,” he said last week.
