Controversy-plagued South Texas congressional candidate Maureen Galindo issued new social media statements Thursday to clarify previous remarks in which she pledged to convert an ICE detention center south of San Antonio into a “prison for American Zionists.”
Galindo — a sex therapist running as a Democrat to represent Texas’ 35th Congressional District — became a national talking point this week after she said in an Instagram post that she would turn the immigrant detention in Karnes County into a prison camp for “American Zionists” along former ICE agents.
“It will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles, which will probably be most of the Zionists,” she added.
The comments were denounced by Republicans and Democrats alike, who described them as antisemitic and hateful. U.S. Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-New Jersey, and Jared Maskowitz, D-Florida, even went as far as to pledge in a joint statement posted on X to “expel her every day” from Congress if she were to win the general election in November.
Even so, Galindo now argues in a series of videos posted on social media this week that her remarks were taken out of context.
“I never said I want Jews in internment camps,” Galindo said in a Thursday statement. “I said I want to close all ICE detention centers and put billionaire American Zionists [who fund the genocidal prison systems] involved in trafficking into prison.”
Even so, her backtracking isn’t swaying her critics.
Democratic fundraising platform and political action committee ActBlue has since removed a fundraising page for Galindo and is no longer processing donations for her campaign.
Meanwhile, the Bexar County Democratic Party and Texas Democratic Party released a joint statement on Wednesday, condemning Galindo.
“Antisemitism and hateful rhetoric have no place in the Democratic Party or in our communities,” the statement said. “Maureen Galindo’s comments do not reflect our values as Democrats or as Texans.”
Galindo faces former Bexar County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Johnny Garcia in the May 26 Democratic runoff. Early voting ends on Friday, and polls will reopen on election day.
Information on polling times and locations is available on the Bexar County Elections Department’s website.
Sign Up for SA Current newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
Related Stories
San Antonio Congressional hopeful Maureen Galindo now says she only wants to put ‘billionaire American Zionists’ in the Karnes County ICE detention Center.
With lots of Alamodome shows on the horizon, the hotel has unveiled a package that bets breakfast and a late checkout can get visitors to stick around downtown.
The campaign will pick up trash on the South Side this Saturday to prevent SA’s garbage from being carried to the Gulf of Mexico.