formerly Liberty Legal Institute

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact: Roe Ann Estevez, Office: 972.941.4452, Cell: 214.558.9957, raestevez@libertyinstitute.org
Jennifer Grisham, Cell: 214558.9455

TEA PARTY GROUP FIGHTS BACK:

King Street Patriots File Counter Lawsuit Against Texas Democratic
Party; Seeks to Overturn Sections of Texas Election Code As
Unconstitutional

HOUSTON, Texas, November 15, 2010 – King Street Patriots, a group of concerned citizens in
Houston, filed a counter lawsuit today against the Texas Democratic Party and at the same time
are asking a judge to rule certain portions of the Texas Election Code governing political speech
as unconstitutional.

The non-profit King Street Patriots made up of citizen volunteers dedicated to election integrity,
are subjects of a lawsuit by the Texas Democratic Party that falsely claims the group broke state
prohibitions against corporate campaign contributions and that it should have to register as a
political organization and even reveal donor records. King Street Patriots, in an effort to protect
their constitutional freedoms, is asking the judge to dismiss the lawsuit, force the Texas
Democratic Party to pay attorneys fees and rule that sections of the Texas Election Code run
afoul of the United States Constitution.

“The Texas Democratic Party is using state law to try to silence citizens political free speech
even though the U.S. Supreme Court vigorously applies First Amendment protections in this
area,” said KSP lead constitutional counsel James Bopp Jr, of the James Madison Center for
Free Speech and architect of the U.S. Supreme Court Citizens United campaign finance case.
“Nonprofit 501(c)(4) organizations are allowed to engage in the political process without
disclosing their donors or registering as a political committee, and Texas laws to the contrary
are unconstitutional.”

Although King Street Patriots is non-partisan, the group dedicated to keeping elections fair and
free drew the ire of the Texas Democratic Party earlier this year after turning over to authorities
questionable voter registrations in Harris County and training hundreds of volunteers as poll
watchers there.

“It is outrageous that a group of American citizens who simply volunteered to get involved in the
political process are forced into court by the Texas Democratic Party,” said Kelly Shackelford,
president and chief counsel of Liberty Institute, also representing KSP. “Using a political party
to sue and attack citizens, and to try to reduce the Constitutional rights of all Americans, is a
disgrace.”

Liberty Institute is a nonprofit legal organization dedicated to protecting First Amendment rights
and the Constitution. The James Madison Center for Free Speech protects the First
Amendment right of all citizens to free political expression. (Link to lawsuit)
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