10 August 3-9, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents generation out of slavery. So, I think that the parallel is perfect. Great men and women did walk these streets.” Even though he’s not sure how realistic it is, Johnson said the goal is to have an African- American Williamsburg right here in Dallas. “I don’t know if Tenth Street will get to that level of preservation, but that’s what we’re striving for.” He said the U.S. doesn’t have a properly restored freedmen’s town, and he wants Tenth Street to be one of the first. “The United States only has fractions and frag- ments of freedman’s towns,” he said. “It’s about time that we had a freedman’s town to tell the history of these freedmen.” ▼ PAXTON IMPEACHMENT ‘PISSED’ AT PAXTON 5 TAKEAWAYS FROM A LOCAL LAWMAKER’S TEXTS ABOUT KEN PAXTON. BY SIMONE CARTER S ome Texas Republicans have stuck by Attorney General Ken Paxton’s side amid his prolonged legal trou- bles. Others have seemingly had enough. State Rep. Jeff Leach, a Plano Republi- can, would apparently fall into the latter cat- egory, according to text messages published by The Dallas Morning News. The News report reveals conversations between Leach and Paxton’s senior adviser, Michelle Smith. Leach wasn’t happy with the idea that Paxton had asked for $3.3 mil- lion in taxpayer money to settle a whistle- blower lawsuit. Word of the funding request prompted a House committee investigation into the whistleblowers’ claims against Paxton, cul- minating in a bipartisan effort to boot the AG from office. The Texas House voted in favor of Pax- ton’s impeachment in May. He’s set for a trial in the Senate in September. Here are five key takeaways from Leach’s text conversation with Smith. GOP Lawmakers Are Very “Pissed” Back in February, Leach told Smith that he and fellow lawmakers needed answers from the AG regarding his settlement fund- ing request. “Need to get Ken on the phone with leg- islators asap. Folks are pissed,” texted Leach, who serves as chair of the committee that has oversight over Paxton’s agency. Later, he said: “I’m not happy I wasn’t given a heads up. None of us were. Pissed in fact. Speaker and Lt Gov didn’t even know. Folks are very upset.” In subsequent texts, Leach again empha- sized his anger toward Paxton. “Michelle — I don’t think y’all under- stand how pissed members are, including many of your conservative friends in the house and senate. I don’t know a single leg- islator who believes taxpayers should be ex- pected to be on the hook for this,” he added. Shelley Luther Gets a Mention In the texts between Leach and Smith, an- other name comes up: Shelley Luther. Lu- ther is the Dallas hair salon owner who in 2020 flouted the governor’s orders for cer- tain businesses to temporarily close to slow the spread of COVID-19. She later launched a failed bid for state Senate. Last month, Leach tried to correct a nar- rative concerning Luther. He seems to have caught wind that he’d been accused of ques- tioning Luther’s faith. “You and I can disagree — but I would never suggest someone is not a believer. Ever,” he texted Smith in part. Repeated References to Christianity Smith cited Christianity multiple times while texting Leach. At one point, the Plano Republican law- maker insisted that he would continue to seek out facts related to Paxton but refused “to do so in secret.” “The Christian thing to do is to ask what is going on in Private,” Smith texted Leach in February. “If you don’t like answer then do whatever public. That biblical way.” In a later exchange, Smith, somewhat confusingly, wrote: “I told you as a Christian who told me he would apologize to Paxton until the day you die to be a Christian and go to your Brother first.” Whataboutism on Display Smith wrote in a Feb. 12 message to Leach that “many ‘state’ agency’s [sic] have settled with employees.” She asked whether Leach had called any of those agencies in for questioning. “That’s a good point. A great point actu- ally,” Leach wrote. “We should probably bring them all in when they’re seeking to settle with taxpayer funds.” At that, Smith brought up former Land Commissioner George P. Bush, whose office reportedly spent close to $1 million in taxpayer funds to avoid getting sued by dozens of fired employees. Smith stated that she didn’t “recall that ever being questioned… ever.” “And that was wrong!” Leach replied. “Totally agree.” Leach Likes to Text About Business This isn’t the first time that Leach has made news over his text messages. In February 2021, a records request re- vealed that Leach had texted Collin Col- lege’s president about a certain professor. Lora Burnett, the history professor in ques- tion, told the Observer at the time that she believed Leach was attempting to get her fired over tweets she’d posted criticizing then-Vice President Mike Pence. “LD Burnet [sic] is paid with taxpayer dollars, correct?” Leach wrote Collin Col- lege President Neil Matkin. “I’m aware of the situation Jeff and will deal with it,” Matkin replied. “Already on my radar before the current issue. “She is definitely paid with taxpayer dol- lars,” he continued. “Ok cool. I’m getting calls from folks. Not a ton… but a few… as it is starting to percolate on social media,” Leach said. “My inbox and the board is getting the same,” Matkin replied. “Appreciate you. Good luck in November friend.” Later that month, Collin College effec- tively terminated Burnett. She later filed suit, arguing that her First Amendment rights had been violated. She ultimately ac- cepted the school’s offer to pay her $70,000 plus attorneys’ fees. ▼ CANNABIS A HIPPY SCORNED GARLAND SMOKE SHOP REOPENS AFTER POLICE RAID AND ARRESTS. BY JACOB VAUGHN T he Garland smoke shop bee Hippy Hemp Dispensary has reopened after being raided by police last month. The Garland Police Department, along with a Drug Enforcement Administration Taskforce out of Dallas, raided the shop on June 7, claiming it was selling products with illegal amounts of THC. Admitting to no wrongdoing on its part, bee Hippy Hemp Dispensary shut down immediately after the raid but reopened near the end of July. The store’s owner, Christopher Charles Fagan, 41, and longtime store employee, 55- year old David Lee Dranguet, were both ar- rested during the raid for allegedly selling illegal THC products. According to a press release addressing the reopening, both men were bound and immediately arrested on the day of the raid. During the raid, the police seized all of the store’s product, which Fagan said was legal and compliant hemp, along with a tiny home that was parked outside the store, cash, numerous personal items and the bee Hippy mascot outfit. Fagan said both his and Lee’s homes were also searched and that they had to pay about $45,000 in bonds to get released the following day. Texas House Bill 1325 legalized hemp in the state in 2019. The law set a legal limit for delta-9 THC, the active ingredient in weed that can get users high. According to the bill, cannabis with 0.3% delta-9 or less by weight is considered legal hemp. Canna- bis with more than 0.3% delta-9 is illegal marijuana. Reached for comment, Fagan told the Observer the store is trying to move forward after the raid. “Unfortunately the Garland police illegally seized 90% of all our inventory, so it’s going to take some time to rebuild inventory,” Fagan said. “Our main priority at this point is reconnecting with customers and to provide transpar- ency into what the Garland police did to our legal and compliant business.” According to Fagan, the Garland Police Department sent an undercover officer into the store three separate times in May this year to purchase products with THCa. THCa is short for tetrahydrocannabino- lic acid. It is naturally occurring in hemp and is a precursor to delta-9 THC. THCa on its own won’t get you high, but when it’s heated (like in a joint, for example), it turns into delta-9. The Garland police used a THC field test that showed the products tested positive for THC. Fagan said there isn’t a field test that can detect delta-9 THC within a 0.3% dry weight limit. He said all of the products at the store have already been tested by a third- party lab to show they’re within the legal limit of delta-9 THC, but the Garland Police never asked to see these lab results. Fagan said bee Hippy Hemp Dispensary has been licensed by the state to sell retail hemp products since the day it opened. “The Garland Police knew we were li- censed, chose to ignore these laws, and pro- ceed forward with clear intent to harm bee Hippy, it’s employees, and its customers,” Fagan said. The Garland Police Department said it couldn’t comment because there’s an on- going criminal investigation, adding “cases have been filed at the county level and the federal level.” The agency han- dling the federal case is the Dallas DEA field office. HB 1325 says “the department by rule must provide to a retailer of hemp products fair notice of a potential violation concern- ing hemp products sold by the retailer and an opportunity to cure a violation made un- intentionally or negligently.” But Fagan said the shop never got any notice about potential violations. “Considering every product sold at bee Hippy is compliant, has been tested, and we’ve never received no- tice of any violations, the Garland Police Department and other supporting law en- forcement agencies must be held account- able for the atrocities committed,” he said. Brandon Bell/Getty Images Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment is dividing Texas conservatives. Unfair Park from p8
