Free Republic

WARNING: Content may be disturbing for some. DENTON — A criminal investigation is unfolding in Denton after a 13-year-old girl is attacked on a school bus by adults. The bus was leaving Bettye Myers Middle School last week when the 8th-grade girl says she was attacked by someone she says she didn't really know. Earlier in the day, she'd heard rumors that the girl, new to the school, wanted to fight her. "She said if I didn't keep her name out of my mouth, then she was going to beat me up," explained the student we'll call "Nicole" to protect...

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued a local school district, alleging it engaged in illegal electioneering by using official email accounts to encourage employees to vote for specific legislative candidates who opposed school choice vouchers. The lawsuit filed this week against the Denton Independent School District alleges a director of special programs and as many as two principals sent emails on official school district account encouraging employees to vote for legislative candidates who oppose school choice candidates. One of the email “encourages the staff of Borman Elementary School to vote in the Republican primary, even if the staff member...

ASHINGTON – A conservative will win the Republican nomination to replace longtime Rep. Michael Burgess in a Denton-based congressional district. The question is what flavor of conservative. Brandon Gill, a 29-year-old unknown to local activists until a month ago, is already basking in former President Donald Trump’s endorsement. His biggest rival is Scott Armey, the former Denton County judge and son of Dick Armey, the tea party godfather and House majority leader who held the seat before Burgess. Gill worked with his father-in-law Dinesh D’Souza on 2000 Mules, a film purporting to expose massive fraud in the 2020 election. Rivals...

In the wake of the Texas Legislature passing a ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices and pressure from elected state officials, many universities have had to grapple with shuttering the doors of their social justice-focused departments. One university in Denton has already announced its plans to “dissolve” and reorganize a multitude of departments. The University of North Texas (UNT), located in Denton, serves a population of over 42,000 students. Recently, UNT President Neal Smatresk announced the school’s response to Senate Bill (SB) 17 to the public. The posted statement includes the plans for the Vice President for Inclusion,...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A former leader of the white supremacist group Atomwaffen Division pleaded guilty today to charges related to his role in a conspiracy that conducted multiple swatting events targeting journalists, a Virginia university, a historic Virginia church, and a former cabinet official.According to court documents, John Cameron Denton, 26, of Montgomery, Texas, is a former leader of the Atomwaffen Division in Texas. From October 2018 to at least April 2019, Denton and several others conspired together to conduct “swatting” calls. Swatting is a harassment tactic that involves deceiving dispatchers into believing that a person or persons are...

People who serve on city boards in Denton [greater Dallas/Fort Worth] are no longer required to be U.S. citizens—or even lawful residents. Denton City Council voted late last month to remove a requirement for residents serving on city boards and commissions to be registered voters, allowing noncitizens to participate. The city said the purpose was to include the highest number of diverse members. Noncitizens—regardless of immigration status—can now serve on all city boards, commissions, and committees except for the Public Utility Board (requirements for that board are set in the city charter, so a change must be approved by voters)....

The LGBT movement’s dark obsession with children has rarely been so blatant. Few pro-family groups are willing to openly confront that – but MassResistance is an exception! As we’ve recently reported, Texas MassResistance has been lobbying hard for three important bills moving forward in the Texas Legislature (dubbed the “Save James” bills). These would stop “sex-change” procedures on children. People are outraged that children are being disfigured for life and sterilized to please a radical ideology. The bills have been aggressively opposed by the LGBT movement as well as big business. Children’s “sex-change” treatments are a huge money-maker for big...

Police in Denton had been searching for a missing 2-year-old for more than 15 hours when a horrible discovery was made. It was around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday when officers found little Sarbesh Gurung in the back of an SUV at the apartment complex where he lived with his family. At a morning press conference Denton Police Department Chief Frank Dixon said, “We stand here this morning heartbroken and it is with my deepest sorrow that I let you all know that we did locate Sarbesh this morning, just shortly after six o’clock. He was found in a vehicle and he...

Brandon Masin is a 25-year-old student at the University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law. He is the founder of the law school’s chapter of The Federalist Society, the only conservative student organization on campus.On the evening of November 20th, 2018, while at an outing hosted by one of his professors for the holiday, Brandon received an email from the university stating that due to an alleged and unspecified threat he was immediately suspended and would have to meet with the school's CARE team. He emailed several times asking procedural questions about the investigation as it was...

His path to distinguished service in the United States Senate led through the Naval Academy, aerial combat over hostile territory, and long years of confinement, beatings, and torture in the Hanoi Hilton. He was a man worth remembering. No, his name was not John McCain. Six years before McCain’s election to the Senate, Alabama voters sent retired Rear Admiral Jeremiah Denton to Washington’s upper chamber. Both the parallels and the divergences in Denton and McCain’s lives tell something about the last few decades of our political history. Twelve years older than McCain, Denton was born in Mobile in 1924, the...

[I begin] with the story of a series of Socialist scholars conferences that Barack Obama attended when he lived in New York City between the years 1983 and 1985. And when I finally reconstructed what had gone on at these Socialist conferences that Barack Obama attended, I truly was amazed because what I saw was a kind of map of Barack Obama’s entire subsequent political career. It was at this Socialist conferences in New York in the mid-’80s that Barack Obama encountered the groups, the strategies, and the mentors who would guide him throughout his entire political career. [T]hese Socialist...

DENTON – An arrest has been made in connection with the New Year's Day murder of Sara Mutschlechner, a student at the University of North Texas. Eric Jamal Johnson, 20, was taken into custody after being located in Yuma, Arizona by the U.S. Marshals Service Tuesday morning after a warrant for his arrest was issued by the Denton Police Department. Johnson is a Marine and was stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, according to Marine Corps Public Affairs Officer Capt. Justin Smith. Johnson was arrested at the base at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. Denton Police said Wednesday that...

A University of North Texas police officer shot and killed a student who allegedly threatened him with an ax early Sunday. The student was identified as Ryan McMillan, who had celebrated his 21st birthday Sunday. University spokeswoman Kelley Reese told the Dallas Morning News. McMillan was a sophomore transfer student from Fort Worth studying pre-hospitality. UNT spokeswoman Margarita Venegas says police responded about 1 a.m. to a report that someone was breaking car windows in a parking garage about two blocks from campus. KDFW reported that university police were asked to respond to the situation because local police in the...

In this two-part interview, Dr. Ireland and Mr. Giovanetti discuss their participation in public debates about the proposed frac[c]ing ban in Denton, TX, interaction with the international press on this issue, and the legal and economic reasons for opposing the proposed ban on hydraulic fracturing or “frac[c]ing.”

What a Frac[c]ing Ban Can Cost a City: Denton, TX as a Case Study Dr. Perryman, widely regarded as one of the world’s most influential and innovative economists, talks with Jacki.

Denton’s 7-month-old ban on hydraulic fracturing fell early Wednesday morning in what city leaders dubbed a “strategic repeal.” Several City Council members said repealing the ban could help neutralize a pair of lawsuits against the city that were on the move again. Council member Greg Johnson called the option the least of three bad choices. Only Council member Keely Briggs voted against the ordinance to repeal, which passed 6-1. The Texas General Land Office and the Texas Oil and Gas Association amended their lawsuits against Denton's ban late Monday. They both cited House Bill 40 as the basis not only...

A Senate committee gave unanimous approval Tuesday to a bill that would limit local control over oil and gas activities across Texas — a measure being referred to as the "Denton fracking bill." The proposal is among nearly a dozen filed in the aftermath of the North Texas town's vote in November to ban hydraulic fracturing within city limits, and it's among those most likely to pass. The legislation, Senate Bill 1165, now heads to the full Senate, where advocates for municipalities will push for changes to address their biggest concern – that the proposal would jeopardize long-held city police...

On election night, voters in Denton, Texas, a city of about 113,000 people northwest of Dallas, voted to ban fracking within the city limits. Appeals were immediately filed; Denton is in oil and gas country – in the Barnett Shale – where fossil fuel resources are not only creating significant growth for the industry, but also lining the coffers of local municipalities and governmental entities within the state. To find out more about what the ban means, and what lies ahead, Rigzone interviewed Mark A. Plummer, CEO and owner of Chestnut Exploration Companies, headquartered in Richardson, a suburb of Dallas,...

A week after a historic vote to ban hydraulic fracturing (or fracking — the controversial drilling method that forces oil and gas from shale formations with pressurized water, sand and a host of chemicals), Denton, Texas, has been told the state will continue to issue drilling permits within the city limits. “It’s my job to give permits, not Denton’s,” said Christi Craddick, chairwoman of the Railroad Commission of Texas. “We’re going to continue permitting up there because that’s my job.” Also known as the Texas Railroad Commission or TRC, the three-member state body actually has no jurisdiction over the rails,...

DENTON, Texas (AP) — The mayor of the North Texas city weighing a ban on hydraulic fracturing this week said he’s prepared for the court battles that might result if the ban passes. Denton Mayor Chris Watts told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he expects Tuesday’s referendum “may be just the beginning for us.” “The vote is not the end of the story,” Watts said. “It may just be the beginning. It may be decided at the courthouse or at the Statehouse.”(continued)