‘Drop the charges’

Protesters support activist; presentation on legislative agenda

Chanting erupted outside Brownsville City Hall on Tuesday, when members of the community gathered before the City Commission meeting to protest the charges against resident and activist Rebekah Hinojosa.

Hinojosa said she was arrested Feb. 16, 2022, and charged with a class B misdemeanor for allegedly defacing the “controversial BTX mural, paid for by Elon Musk,” on the side of the old Capitol Theatre building in downtown Brownsville.

Sara Stapleton Barrera, Hinojosa’s criminal defense attorney, joined her client as well as over a dozen other protesters in asking for the charges to be immediately dropped. The group also collectively called for an investigation of Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez, who attended the meeting via Zoom, for “abuse of power.”

“I was subjected to a politically motivated arrest,” Hinojosa said during the public comment period of the meeting. “… Without allowing me to properly dress and without providing a warrant, they arrested me, took away my prescription eyeglasses, subjected me to interrogation without a lawyer and held me in jail for over 26 hours. All this on a single alleged charge of class B misdemeanor graffiti.

“Immediately after my release … the mayor of Brownsville, Trey Mendez, singled out and publicly attacked me by publishing a photo of me from the Brownsville Police Department in a post on his official Facebook page, setting me up for criticism and potential harm from his constituents.”

Hinojosa believes she was targeted because of her “work speaking out against the destructive impact that SpaceX is causing in the [Rio Grande] Valley’s environment and community.”

The group also delivered two boxes of petitions, which amassed over 1,700 signatures in support of dropping the charges against Hinojosa.

During the protest, Stapleton Barrera said the evidence against her client was “underwhelming” and that the graffiti, which read “gentrified” and “stop SpaceX,” was an act of free speech. Later, during public comment, she also said that “aspects of the investigation are highly problematic.”

“This idea of the social media shaming and posting people’s mugshots on the internet, right, states all over the [United States] are enacting laws that prohibit specifically this,” she said.

Juan Mancias, chairman of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, also spoke in support of Hinojosa, saying her work protects “who we are.”

“A hundred and seventy years of Brownsville, but where’s your history?” Mancias said. “Go anywhere, you find nothing but Elon Musk stuff. He’s erasing your history. … They are pillaging and they are looting these sites that are out there, and when someone like Bekah Hinojosa stands up to protect what is there, they’re not protesting. She’s protecting the rights of who we are.”

City of Brownsville legislative agenda

Rogelio Chanes, Brownsville Intergovernmental Relations manager, presented a snapshot of the 88th Texas Legislative Session, so far, which convened Jan. 10 and runs until May 29. Chanes said the state budget, $188.2 billion, has a $33 billion surplus, a third of which is expected to go into a “rainy day” fund and help lower property tax.

The legislative agenda includes topics of development in the commercial space economy and broadband connectivity.

Brownsville is “well-positioned to become a leader in expanding the commercial space economy” due to current space investments in the region and the presence of SpaceX, according to Chanes. In Senate Bill 1 and House Bill 1, the Texas Legislature submitted an additional provision for consideration, which would create a Texas Space Commission.

In the interest of broadband connectivity within the city, Lit Communities, a network builder, operator and consultant agency, is investing $70 million in private funding to construct the last mile of the network, Chanes said. Legislative action includes supporting the creation of a funding program for underserved urban and rural areas, according to the presentation.

Other legislative action focuses on funding for an Emergency Operations Center, a joint tactical training facility for the Brownsville Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety, regional transportation infrastructure, urban growth, municipal solidarity, public health on the border and the LGBTQ+ community.

Key dates for the current session include the bill filing deadline, which is March 11, and the last day for Gov. Greg Abbott to sign or veto bills, June 18. Most bills go into effect Aug. 27, according to the presentation.