One butterfly sanctuary in South Texas will be closed indefinitely due to security concerns, after being repeatedly targeted by supporters of the former U.S. president, Donald Trump, on charges of human trafficking.
«The Board of Directors has decided to close the park, but will continue to pay the staff for the foreseeable future,» says the director of the National Butterfly Center, Marianna Trebinio-Wright.
«The board of directors» top priority is the safety of staff, members, and visitors,« he adds. ’For this reason, they decided to close the center for the immediate future, while they seek advice from experts and develop a plan that will best serve our interests and public safety moving forward.».
The butterfly park, which spearheaded the opposition to the Trump administration’s efforts to build sections of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico near the 100-stremma nature reserve in Mission, Texas, has a long history of legal battles with the former administration and its allies in the «Build the Wall» movement, making it a constant target of harassment.
The shelter was closed from Friday through Sunday during the «We Stand America» rally held nearby by members of QAnon and supporters of former President Donald Trump. Trevino-Wright said she received a warning from an acquaintance involved in Republican politics to be «armed at all times» during the rally, because she and the park would be targets for those in attendance.
The park reopened on Monday and Tuesday for members only, but it will now close to both members and the general public amid ongoing concerns for the safety of its staff and visitors.
On Monday, Trebinio-Wright had stated that the board of directors of the National Butterfly Center would have to «decide whether we will remain open or not because of the terror that all these political operatives are trying to stir up against us.».
A spokesperson for the police department confirmed that Trebinio-Wright had contacted the police regarding her concerns. He said that officers would continue to conduct routine community patrols. «Our response time is fast,» he said.
Following news reports about the butterfly center’s decision to close for the weekend, several participants in the “We Stand America” took and posted footage near the sign for the National Butterfly Center.
A Republican congressional candidate from South Carolina posted a video of herself and Women Fighting for America standing near the sign, saying they could not find any evidence of a «threat» against the center.
Another video was posted over the weekend by Ben Bergham, a correspondent for Real America Voice, a far-right news website that also hosts the podcast «War Room» podcast.
In the photo, he is holding a child's shoe with the butterfly center's label visible in the background, claiming that the shoe belongs to «one of the children who were trafficked.».
A spokesperson for the Apostoli Police Department said that undocumented crossings are taking place at many checkpoints along the border near the park and that he does not know if there is any specific activity at the of the center.
