Bannon's Scammy Wall Halted In Texas

Neo-fascist Trump supporter, Stephen Bannon, decided to ignore all the legal barriers and just build a wall of hatred and bigotry with money from Trump racist, xenophobic supporters. He probably shouldn't have picked bright blue Hidalgo County, Texas for the stunt. In 2016, Hillary crushed Trump there-- 79.0% to 18.9%. Last year, Beto clubbed Ted Cruz and in the gubernatorial race, Lupe Valdez had a landslide win against Gov. Greg Abbott. Hidalgo is split up between 3 congressional districts, all firmly in the hands of Democrats. Hidalgo dominates TX-15 and performed last year as a D+45 county for Vicente Gonzalez. Next door, Republicans didn't even bother to put up a candidate in TX-28. And on the other side of the county, TX-34's bluest county is Hidalgo who performance for Filemon Vela last year was D+44. Every member of the county government is a Democrat.

And Bannon and his fascist vigilantes-- "We Build The Wall"-- barged right in and started building... with no permits and in defiance of government orders. What the hell? The Washington Post's Ted Amus explained what happened. The plan was to erect 3 miles of 18 foot steal fencing. On Tuesday a state judge in Hidalgo County jordered them to stop construction, ruling that "the National Butterfly Center, a 100-acre riverfront preserve in Mission, Tex., could face 'imminent and irreparable harm' if We Build the Wall continues with plans to erect a 'water wall' between the nature refuge and a state park. Javier Peña, a lawyer for the butterfly center, told the Washington Post that the wall could act as a dam that would redirect floodwater to the sanctuary-- a popular spot for school groups and birders-- and wipe out its vegetation, thus destroying the site or reducing its property value. 'You can do almost anything with your property. But what you can’t do is hurt other people’s property,' he said. 'For these guys to come down and use fear and hate to destroy it [the center] for their personal gain-- that’s what troubles us.'"

Do you remember Brian Kolfage, a hustler who started a Trump-approved GoFundMe page to build the wall that first Mexico and then Congress refused to pay for? Almost a year ago, yelling about "too many illegals... taking advantage of the United States taxpayers," Kolfage raised $20 million in just a few days. How stupid does someone have to be? Their evangelical pastors have them well-trained to be just that stupid. Kolfage was aiming for a billion dollars to build Trump's wall for a "fraction of what it costs the government." How'd that work out for the morons? Kolfage, who was able to enlist failed Kansas politician Kris Kobach for his company's board, says his wall will cost between $2 and $3 million per mile. Kolfage is known for shady behavior in the past, including the misuse of funds he raised. BuzzFeed looked into Kolfage’s previous crowdfunding efforts, which included an initiative to mentor wounded veterans at military hospitals-- among them Walter Reed and Brooke Army Medical Center. He raised thousands for the project, but spokespersons for the medical facilities told the outlet they have no record of him working at the hospitals or donating money.

Yet the Florida group, and its founder, outspoken military veteran Brian Kolfage, may be barreling forward anyway.

“We have many people who try to stop us legally with silly attempts, and in the end we always prevail,” Kolfage said in an email to The Post. “I would put a 50/50 chance this is fake news, and if it’s not it will be crushed legally pretty fast.”

In a video posted to Twitter on Tuesday evening, the group’s project manager-- a man in a hard-hat identified only as “Foreman Mike”-- said that a mile and a half of land had been cleared, and steel bollards and panels would be installed within 48 hours.

“We’re going to be putting this up,” he said, asking for more donations, while pledging to have the whole project complete by Jan. 15, 2020. “We have to supercharge it now. It’s time to get really moving.”

Kolfage, a triple amputee in Florida who received a Purple Heart for his service in Iraq, first went viral last December, when he launched a GoFundMe looking to crowdfund $1 billion to privately build Trump’s border wall.

As he raised $25 million online, his campaign drew scrutiny about where all that money was going. But Kolfage, who enlisted the likes of Bannon and Kris Kobach to serve on his board, then revealed that the group had hired a North Dakota construction firm to erect a half-mile of fencing on private land in Sunland Park, N.M.

In May, the town’s mayor sent We Build the Wall a cease-and-desist letter, seeking to block its construction on private land belonging to a brick company. Days later, though, the construction firm-- headed by a major GOP donor and touted by Trump himself-- was later allowed to finish carrying out the project.

Over the summer, Kolfage and his group set its sights on South Texas, where they again hired the North Dakota firm to erect a “water wall” on private land along the Rio Grande belonging to a sugar cane farmer.

The U.S. Army Corps typically builds on higher ground along river levees, placing steel bollards yards away from the ever-shifting curves of a river that has been especially prone to flooding. (The butterfly center has sued the Trump administration over its plans to extend such construction into the protected area, and a circuit court is set to hear arguments later this week.)

Unlike the federal government’s construction, Peña said that Kolfage’s plans ignore the possibility of damage to neighboring properties.

“Whether you’re for the wall or against the wall, they [the government] are cognizant of the dangers that construction could cause,” he said. “These guys are just going in there to stoke everyone’s anger and fear, raise money, and then move along to the next victim.”

The International Boundary and Water Commission, a joint U.S.-Mexico agency that issues permits to build along the Rio Grande, asked the group to halt construction, submit an engineering study and remove heavy equipment from the levees, The Post’s Nick Miroff reported. The group appeared to ignore that request.

During that time, Kolfage and the butterfly center erupted into an online flame war. Kolfage accused the center of assisting cartels and partaking in insect smuggling, calling them “left wing thugs with a sham butterfly agenda.” The center took its own jabs at Kolfage on social media, sometimes including the hashtag “#LiarLiarPantsOnFire.”

Then, the butterfly center sued Kolfage and his group. Peña said that the preserve’s leaders wanted to conduct a study of the fencing itself, but have been blocked from doing so until the court grants them access to the land now being used by We Build the Wall.

“They’re not stopping. They’re not planning on conducting studies. They’re not concerned with what damage it would do to neighboring properties,” he said. “They just want to build the wall.”

The temporary restraining order will last at least until Dec. 17, at which point it can be extended for another two weeks and may then lead to a temporary injunction hearing.

Should Kolfage and his group continue construction anyway, a judge could call them in for a hearing and consider sanctions ranging from monetary fines to jail time, Peña said.