A hard-right activist conference branded as the "Year of the Patriot" is set for August 1 at Birchman Baptist Church in north Fort Worth, and it is already lighting up local politics. Organizers have packed the program with sessions framed as attacks on "Islamization," remigration and immigration policy, and the presence of sitting officials on the speaker list has alarmed local Muslim leaders and civil rights advocates.
What the lineup shows
The True Texas Project's event page lays out a roster that includes a session titled "Islamization and TX Lege" with state Rep. Andy Hopper, "They Gotta Go Back: The Remigration Cure" with Cyan Quinn, and a panel called "Christianity & The Red/Green Alliance" featuring state Sen. Bob Hall and state Rep. Brent Money. Also on the bill are Sheriff Roy Boyd, Texas Education Agency Inspector General Levi Fuller, and U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill, according to True Texas Project.
Community reaction and civil-rights context
The speaker list has drawn swift criticism from Muslim community leaders and civil rights groups who see the event as part of a broader pattern of anti-Muslim rhetoric. As reported by the Fort Worth Report, the conference is pitched as an effort to "stop Islam, curb immigration and celebrate America's 250th anniversary," and attorney Khalid Hamideh told the outlet he was "ashamed" and "disappointed" that the event is being held at a church.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations' 2026 civil rights report documented 8,683 anti-Muslim complaints nationwide in 2025, a figure advocates point to as evidence of a rising climate of bias and threats. That report is available from CAIR.
Officials onstage and political signaling
The program pairs elected officials with movement organizers, a mix that political observers say is designed to energize the conservative base and showcase loyalty to its priorities. U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill, a freshman who has already attracted attention on Capitol Hill and online, is among those listed to appear, as noted by The Texas Tribune.
SMU political scientist Cal Jillson has described how candidates and officeholders use local events like this as a form of retail politics, stepping onto stages that speak directly to core primary voters as a way to underscore their alignment. His analyses and commentary on Texas political signaling appear on Southern Methodist University news pages.
Constitutional questions
Legal scholars note that proposals to classify Islam as a purely political system, and to strip it of protections typically afforded to religion, would almost certainly run into immediate court challenges under the First Amendment. The Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause work together to protect religious practice while keeping government neutral toward different faiths, a framework that would be central in any such legal fight. The Legal Information Institute at Cornell University provides background on those twin religion clauses and their modern interpretation.
Why it matters and what to watch
The conference is scheduled for August 1 at Birchman Baptist Church, with organizers still promoting speakers and trainings across conservative networks while local Muslim-rights advocates watch closely for both rhetoric and potential fallout. The True Texas Project traces its roots to the Northeast Tarrant Tea Party, according to the True Texas Project, and national reporting has linked similar organizations to major conservative donors, including Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, as detailed by ProPublica.
For critics, that mix of church setting, sharp-edged messaging and well-connected political and financial players turns what might otherwise be a niche activist gathering into a test of how far anti-Islam and hardline immigration rhetoric can go in mainstream local politics.
