lone star politics

Frisco Republican returns in-kind donation after PACs controversial meeting

Rep. Jared Patterson and a Houston-area Republican are the first two House members to announce they'll donate the money they received from Defend Texas Liberty PAC.

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Representative Jared Patterson, R - Frisco, is donating $2,500 to a pro-Israeli charity after staff for the powerful Defend Texas Liberty PAC met with a white supremacist who's called for a "Holy War" against Jews.

First reported by the Texas Tribune, last Friday, well-known white supremacist Nick Fuentes met with staff at Defend Texas Liberty PAC for six hours. Photos show Fuentes and affiliate staff for the PAC leaving the Tarrant County offices of the PAC's President, Jonathan Stickland.

Patterson received $2,500 of in-kind donations from Stickland in 2017 and 2018. He said he wants to make a point by his donation and calls on his fellow Republicans to do the same.

"I washed that stain from my campaign and we donated the money to the Friends of the Israeli Defense Force to help my brothers and sisters in Israel who are fighting the terrorists," said Rep. Patterson.

"We reject Speaker Phelan's effort to combine Defend Texas Liberty PAC with Nick Fuentes. We oppose Mr. Fuentes' incendiary views," wrote a PAC spokesman online.

NBC 5 has requested interviews with leaders of the PAC but have not yet heard back.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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