A lawyer representing President Donald Trump final month despatched a cease-and-desist letter instructing Brandon Herrera, a Republican candidate in Texas’ twenty third Congressional District, to cease utilizing the president’s picture and likeness in marketing campaign supplies.
The letter, which was obtained by The Texas Tribune, was despatched Jan. 27 to Herrera and his joint fundraising committee by Jesse Franklin-Murdock, a California lawyer on the Dhillon Legislation Group, a agency which has usually represented Trump in authorized issues. Franklin-Murdock, figuring out himself as a consultant of the president and By no means Give up, Inc., Trump’s management PAC, accuses Herrera of sending a misleading mailer with Trump’s picture on it.
Trump has endorsed Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, within the uber-competitive Republican major for the district. The mailer, in line with the cease-and-desist letter, creates a misunderstanding of Trump’s place within the race by depicting Herrera and Trump in side-by-side pictures which might be edited to seem as if the 2 are posing collectively. It was despatched out by the Brandon Herrera Victory Committee, a joint fundraising committee between Herrera’s marketing campaign and his management PAC.
“The mailer described above is inconsistent with President Trump’s unequivocal endorsement of Congressman Gonzalez [sic], and it’s prone to confuse voters with respect to President Trump’s most well-liked candidate within the major election,” the letter says. “In brief, the Committee’s mailer makes use of President Trump’s picture and likeness in a misleading method that’s opposite to President Trump’s said place relating to the first election.”
Whereas Trump steadily weighs in on primaries in Texas by way of endorsements, the cease-and-desist letter represents a uncommon — although not unprecedented — authorized motion in opposition to a Republican candidate.
Herrera, a gun rights activist and YouTuber, challenged Gonzales in 2024. The competition went to a runoff, the place Gonzales bested Herrera by beneath 400 votes in one of many closest major races within the nation. In August, Herrera launched his second try to oust Gonzales.
In an announcement, Herrera’s marketing campaign supervisor blasted Gonzales for voting to create the Home’s Jan. 6 Fee and internet hosting then-presidential candidate Nikki Haley in his district, however didn’t tackle the cease-and-desist letter.
“There’s just one candidate on this race who has supported President Trump from the start, and that’s Brandon Herrera,” Kimmie Gonzalez, Herrera’s marketing campaign supervisor, mentioned.
The district, which incorporates a slice of San Antonio and runs alongside the border in West and South Texas, is the biggest by land space within the state. Trump endorsed Gonzales, a Navy veteran who has represented the district since 2021, in December, calling him a “terrific Consultant.”
The cease-and-desist letter says the mailer, entitled “Brandon Herrera’s City Corridor Schedule” incorporates pictures of Herrera and Trump in opposition to a mountainous backdrop in its left third.
Franklin-Murdock tells Herrera to stop misusing Trump’s picture and likeness instantly, and warns that persevering with to take action may invite authorized penalties.
In an announcement, Franklin-Murdock mentioned he would “use each lawful means to guard his supporters from makes an attempt by Herrera and others to deceive them.”
The Trump marketing campaign has used cease-and-desist letters earlier than to go after opponents or teams out of the president’s favor. His marketing campaign ordered the Loudoun County GOP in Virginia to cease promoting merchandise depicting Trump after his 2024 assasination try and took subject with former Rep. Bob Good for utilizing the president’s title on yard indicators after Trump had endorsed in opposition to him. In 2021, shortly after leaving workplace, his attorneys requested three Republican organizations to cease utilizing his title and likeness on their merchandise and in fundraising appeals.
Trump-Herrera-cease-and-desist-letterDownload
This text first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
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