The Better Question
The reader who submitted this claim described True Texas Project as “extremists” who have “completely taken over” Tarrant County GOP leadership and are “fear mongering a revived Red Scare/McCarthyism movement.” That framing loads the question before the evidence is examined. “Mob rule,” “Red Scare,” and “McCarthyism” are the reader’s characterizations — they do not appear in any documented TTP statement, Tarrant County GOP platform, or For Liberty & Justice material reviewed for this fact-check.
The better questions are: What form and degree of influence does True Texas Project actually exercise over the Tarrant County Republican Party? And: How does the For Liberty & Justice pastor-mobilization network operate, and what is its documented relationship to TTP? Those questions have real, checkable answers. This article answers them.
Verdict Summary
| Sub-Claim | Verdict |
|---|---|
| TTP grew from 2009 NE Tarrant Tea Party and has expanded statewide via largely anonymous funding | Mostly True |
| TTP has come to “dominate” Tarrant County Republican Party politics | Mixed |
| A pastor-mobilization network (For Liberty & Justice / Campaign University) is actively training evangelical candidates in Tarrant County and expanding nationally | Mostly True |
| TTP meetings have featured material promoting a Christian takeover of government (“Black Robed Regiment”) | Mixed |
Sub-Claim 1: TTP Origins and Funding
True Texas Project began in 2009 as the NE Tarrant Tea Party (NETTP), founded by Julie McCarty in the northeast Tarrant County suburbs of Fort Worth.[1] That founding date, location, and founder are confirmed across multiple independent sources and by the organization itself.[2]
By 2015, KERA News and the Texas Tribune were both documenting the group as “arguably the state’s most influential Tea Party group,” one that had successfully pushed several incumbent Republican officeholders out of their seats in GOP primaries by supporting more conservative challengers.[1] The organization’s strategy was explicit: “The primaries are the key elections for us,” McCarty told the Texas Tribune.[1]
The group rebranded as True Texas Project by 2019, reflecting expanded statewide ambitions. It now operates through 18 chapters across Texas in both solidly Republican and competitive counties.[3]
Funding
The San Antonio Report’s investigation of TTP’s Bexar County expansion reported that the group has been “fueled since 2019 with anonymous donations.”[3] Separately, investigative reporting has linked TTP to the broader political network funded by West Texas oil investors Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, who have used groups including Defend Texas Liberty to push the state GOP and legislature toward harder-line positions on immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, and public education.[3] TTP itself does not publicly disclose its major donors.
What is disputed
The Bud Kennedy column cited in research for this piece (a Fort Worth Star-Telegram opinion piece, not a news report) asserts that TTP was “secretly started by Republican political organizers in Dallas to take over a movement that began in the Libertarian Party.”[7] McCarty’s own account is different: she describes attending a Tax Day rally in 2009 and volunteering to start a local chapter.[2]
The Southern Poverty Law Center has listed TTP on its extremist-group tracking map as an “anti-government” organization for multiple consecutive years; TTP itself publicizes these listings, arguing the SPLC designation demonstrates its credibility with its base.[17]
Sub-Claim 2: TTP Influence Over the Tarrant County GOP
The claim that TTP has “come to dominate” Tarrant County Republican Party politics requires separating two distinct things: the documented influence TTP exerts as an outside pressure group, and the formal structure of the Tarrant County Republican Party itself. They are not the same.
What is documented
TTP is clearly a fixture of Tarrant County GOP organizing. The Tarrant County Republican Party’s own website has listed TTP events alongside official party activities.[15] TTP publishes endorsement slates in local GOP primaries that overlap substantially with Tarrant County Republican Party endorsements.[3] The organization provides its chapters with funding for speaker events, venues, and advertising.[3]
Tarrant County’s Republican politics have moved sharply rightward over the same period TTP was expanding. In 2022, voters elected Tim O’Hare, a hardline conservative, as County Judge. In 2024, former President Trump carried Tarrant County for the first time since 2016, and Republicans gained a supermajority on the five-member Commissioners Court. The Commissioners Court subsequently pursued a 2025 redistricting effort that the Texas Tribune reported would pack Black and Hispanic communities into fewer precincts, consolidating Republican control.[16] TTP’s priorities align with this direction, though reporting does not establish TTP as the singular cause of the shift.
Where “dominate” overclaims
TTP is an external advocacy organization, not the Tarrant County Republican Party itself. It holds no formal governing authority over the party apparatus, cannot direct party officers, and does not control the county chair. Its influence runs through endorsements, candidate training, and primary mobilization — the same channels any political advocacy group uses.
More concretely: in the May 2025 Tarrant County elections, TTP made 33 candidate recommendations. A Fort Worth Report analysis found that most of those endorsed candidates lost, including all seven of the challenged school board candidates TTP and the Tarrant County GOP had jointly backed.[13] The party’s own 26-candidate endorsement list shared many names with TTP’s but also suffered heavy losses that cycle.
In early 2026, KERA News reported that newly formed shadow PACs — entities distinct from TTP — were injecting significant money into Tarrant County precinct chair races, suggesting the far-right organizing ecosystem in Tarrant County now involves multiple competing actors, not a single TTP-commanded machine.[14]
The documented picture is one of significant, sustained influence over a period of years, including real electoral wins in Republican primaries, but with clear limits: a May 2025 setback, competition from other conservative entities, and no formal control of the party apparatus. “Well-funded and influential” is supported. “Dominate” as commonly understood (a group that controls the party) goes beyond the record.
Sub-Claim 3: The For Liberty & Justice Pastor Network
The original submission attributes the pastor-mobilization effort to True Texas Project. This attribution is slightly imprecise. The primary organization doing this work is For Liberty & Justice (FLJ), a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit housed at Mercy Culture, a Fort Worth megachurch, and led by Texas State Representative Nate Schatzline. TTP and FLJ are distinct entities that operate in overlapping political space, but they are not the same organization. The confusion is understandable: Carlos Turcios, who serves as Tarrant County Director for FLJ, has also appeared as a speaker at TTP county chapter events.[8]
For Liberty & Justice and Campaign University
FLJ was founded in 2021 as what Mercy Culture calls a “housed vision” — an organization with “one foot in the church and one foot reforming culture.”[6] Its political training program, Campaign University, consists of online lessons designed to recruit and train “spirit-led candidates” for public office at every level, from school boards to state legislature.[6] ProPublica, in a November 2025 investigation, described the lessons as teaching potential candidates that they “don’t need to be experts in government or the Constitution to seek public office” and instructing them to “stand for spiritual righteousness.”[6]
The Fort Worth Report identified at least 10 Campaign University graduates who have since entered political races. Texas GOP Chairman Abraham George is among them.[5] Mercy Culture claims the FLJ network has helped elect more than 100 candidates in Texas, though that figure is the organization’s own claim, not independently verified by vote totals.[6]
Nate Schatzline’s dual role
Nate Schatzline is simultaneously a pastor at Mercy Culture Church and has served as a Texas state representative (Fort Worth, House District 93). In October 2025, Schatzline announced he would not seek reelection and would instead join President Trump’s National Faith Advisory Board, a body reconstituted in Trump’s second term and led by televangelist Paula White-Cain.[9][10] His stated mission on the board is to “equip pastors to step up and speak out about religious freedom, to fight for life at all stages, to stand for family values.”[9]
Campaign University has since expanded beyond Fort Worth to congregations around the country.[5]
Questions about nonprofit status
The Texas Observer reported that FLJ may be violating its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. At an August 2024 event, Schatzline told FLJ members that some in the room “are actually one of the reasons that I won local office” and that they “helped us knock on 26,000 doors for me to win my election in 2022.” The Texas Observer documented FLJ activities that appeared to assist the Ted Cruz Senate campaign. Tax law generally bars 501(c)(3) organizations from participating in campaigns for or against specific candidates.[12]
The IRS and Johnson Amendment context
Running alongside the FLJ story is a significant federal legal development. The Johnson Amendment — a 1954 provision of tax law named after then-Senator Lyndon Johnson — has barred tax-exempt organizations, including churches, from endorsing political candidates since its enactment. In July 2025, the IRS filed a proposed consent decree in a case brought by the National Religious Broadcasters and two Texas churches, agreeing that the Johnson Amendment “as properly interpreted” does not prevent a house of worship from speaking “to its congregation, through customary channels of communication on matters of faith in connection with religious services, concerning electoral politics viewed through the lens of religious faith.”[11]
That proposed settlement did not survive in court. In March 2026, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Texas dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction, ruling that the Tax Anti-Injunction Act prevented the court from approving a consent decree that would effectively restrain enforcement of a tax provision.[4] The plaintiffs have appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The legal question of whether the Johnson Amendment is enforceable against churches that endorse candidates during worship services remains unresolved.
The Texas Tribune’s August 2025 reporting noted that Texas megachurches had been routinely engaging in candidate endorsements without consequence for years, so the practical effect of the IRS proposed settlement — even when it was operative — was to formalize a non-enforcement posture that already existed.[16]
Sub-Claim 4: The “Black Robed Regiment” and Extremism Charges
The reader’s original submission described the pastor network as driving “a revived Red Scare/McCarthyism movement amongst evangelicals” and characterized TTP’s activities as “mob rule.” These are the reader’s characterizations. They do not appear in any TTP document, public statement, or reporting reviewed for this piece, and presenting them as TTP’s own language would be inaccurate.
What is documented (straight-news sourcing)
TTP held its 15th anniversary conference in summer 2024. The Texas Tribune and KERA News reported — in straight news articles, not opinion — that the conference agenda included sessions titled “Multiculturalism and the War on White America” and content promoting great replacement theory. Speakers included Paul Gottfried, a far-right writer who has collaborated with white supremacists and mentored figures including Richard Spencer.[4][5] After the Tribune published its pre-conference reporting, at least three of the 12 listed speakers withdrew, saying they had been unaware of the themes and lineup.[4]
The conference was held at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden after the city of Fort Worth overruled the garden’s attempt to revoke TTP’s rental permit. Nearly 90 people protested the event outside.[16]
What is sourced at opinion-column level
The “Black Robed Regiment” characterization — specifically, the description of TTP monthly meetings featuring content about “armed pastors leading a violent overthrow to impose forced Christian government” — appears in the Bud Kennedy Fort Worth Star-Telegram opinion column.[7]
The distinction matters: TTP’s 2024 conference content (white nationalist speakers, great replacement theory) is documented by independent journalists from primary sources. The “violent overthrow” framing of the Black Robed Regiment meetings is documented by an opinion columnist who attended or reviewed TTP meetings. Both deserve to be reported at their actual sourcing level.
The Other Side
The strongest version of the TTP and FLJ position is not difficult to reconstruct: these organizations are doing what political advocacy groups and civic-training programs have always done — organizing constituents, training candidates, and working to elect people who share their values. Campaign University teaches Christians to run for public office and navigate the campaign trail. That is, structurally, identical to what progressive candidate-training programs do. TTP’s endorsement slates and monthly speaker meetings are the kind of civic organizing that courts have repeatedly found to be protected political speech.
TTP supporters would also note that the Tarrant County Republican electorate did not need to be manufactured: the county’s conservative base was already there. TTP organized an existing constituency rather than creating a new one. The May 2025 election results, where TTP-backed candidates mostly lost, support this reading — the Republican voter base in Tarrant County does not mechanically follow TTP’s endorsements.
On the Johnson Amendment and church endorsements: the formal legal prohibition has been widely acknowledged, by officials across administrations, as effectively unenforceable for decades. Churches across the theological spectrum — not only evangelical conservatives — have long engaged in candidate-adjacent activity without enforcement consequences. Treating the TTP/FLJ mobilization as uniquely threatening to norms that were never consistently enforced requires acknowledging that the norms themselves were never consistently enforced.
Where this steelman runs out is at TTP’s documented 2024 conference content. Inviting a speaker who has collaborated with neo-Nazis to a “15th anniversary celebration” of a political organization is not equivalent to ordinary civic organizing, and the several speakers who withdrew when they learned of the lineup suggested the content went beyond what mainstream conservative organizing typically looks like. That is the strongest piece of evidence on the other side of this steelman.
What to Watch
- November 2026 general election (80 days out): Tarrant County races for Commissioners Court, state legislature, and Congress will be the first major test of the post-2024 rightward shift. TTP endorsement performance against May 2025 results will clarify whether that setback was a one-cycle correction or a longer trend.
- Fifth Circuit appeal in the Johnson Amendment case: National Religious Broadcasters v. Bessent has been appealed to the Fifth Circuit. A ruling permitting or blocking IRS non-enforcement of the Johnson Amendment in worship settings would directly affect how FLJ and Campaign University can operate without risking tax-exempt status.
- FLJ’s national expansion: Campaign University is now being offered at congregations outside Texas. Whether it replicates the Tarrant County model in other states will determine whether this story is a Texas-specific political development or the beginning of a national pattern.
- Tarrant County precinct chair races (March 2026 primary, results pending): KERA’s February 2026 reporting documented new shadow PACs flooding Tarrant County GOP precinct chair races with unprecedented money. Who wins those seats shapes the county party apparatus for the next two years and will show whether TTP-aligned or independent conservative factions control the grassroots party machinery.
- FLJ’s 501(c)(3) status: The Texas Observer’s reporting on potential campaign-finance violations at FLJ has not triggered a formal IRS inquiry as of the date of publication. Whether that changes under future IRS enforcement posture is an open question.
The Claim and What Was Checked
A reader submitted a claim about the True Texas Project (TTP), a political organization based in Tarrant County, Texas. The reader described TTP as “extremists” who had “completely taken over” the county Republican Party. This article checks the actual facts. It breaks the claim into four smaller parts and rates each one on its own evidence.
The short version: some parts of the claim are mostly true. But “completely taken over” goes further than the evidence supports. And some of the reader’s language is their own words, not something TTP actually said.
Part 1: True Texas Project Origins — Mostly True
True Texas Project started in 2009 as the NE Tarrant Tea Party. Julie McCarty founded it in the Fort Worth suburbs. This is confirmed by several news sources and by the group itself.
By 2015, news outlets called it the most influential Tea Party group in Texas. It had helped push some Republican officials out of office in party primaries by backing more conservative challengers.
Around 2019, the group renamed itself True Texas Project. It now runs 18 chapters across Texas. It receives large donations, but the donors are not publicly identified.
One disputed claim: a Fort Worth Star-Telegram opinion columnist wrote that TTP was “secretly started by Republican political organizers in Dallas.” TTP’s founder tells a different story. This specific claim has not been confirmed by independent reporting.
Part 2: TTP and the Tarrant County Republican Party — Mixed
The reader said TTP has “come to dominate” Tarrant County Republican Party politics. The evidence shows real influence, but “dominate” goes further than the facts support.
What IS documented: the Tarrant County Republican Party’s website has listed TTP events. TTP’s endorsement lists overlap heavily with the county party’s endorsements. Tarrant County has moved sharply to the right since 2022. That year, voters elected a hardline conservative as County Judge. In 2024, Donald Trump won the county for the first time since 2016.
What limits the “dominate” claim: TTP is an outside group, not the county party itself. It has no formal authority over party officers. In May 2025 local elections, most of TTP’s endorsed candidates lost, including all seven school board candidates it backed. In early 2026, new political action committees not connected to TTP began spending in Tarrant County precinct chair races, showing TTP is not the only player.
Part 3: The Pastor Mobilization Network — Mostly True
There is a well-documented pastor and church mobilization effort in Tarrant County. But it is run by a separate organization called For Liberty & Justice (FLJ), not TTP itself.
FLJ is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based at Mercy Culture, a large Fort Worth church. It was founded in 2021. Its training program, Campaign University, teaches Christians how to run for public office. The news organization ProPublica investigated it in November 2025.
Nate Schatzline leads FLJ. He is both a pastor at Mercy Culture and a Texas state representative. In October 2025, he announced he would not run for re-election. He joined President Trump’s National Faith Advisory Board instead.
Carlos Turcios is the Tarrant County Director for FLJ. He also speaks at TTP events, which helps explain why the reader connected the two organizations.
Mercy Culture says FLJ has helped elect more than 100 candidates in Texas. The Texas GOP Chairman is a Campaign University graduate. The Texas Observer reported that FLJ may have broken rules for its tax-exempt status by helping specific Republican campaigns.
The Johnson Amendment
A 1954 law called the Johnson Amendment bars churches from endorsing political candidates. In July 2025, the IRS agreed to let churches endorse candidates during worship services. A federal judge threw out that agreement in March 2026, ruling the court did not have the legal authority to approve it. The case is now on appeal.
Part 4: Extremism Charges — Mixed
The reader described TTP as running a “Red Scare/McCarthyism movement.” That is the reader’s own language. No reporting found TTP using those words.
Two things need to be kept apart.
Confirmed by news reporting from the Texas Tribune and KERA: At its 2024 anniversary conference, TTP featured sessions titled “War on White America” and invited a speaker with ties to white supremacist networks. Several invited speakers withdrew when they learned about the conference themes.
Sourced only to one opinion column: The claim that TTP monthly meetings feature “Black Robed Regiment” content about “armed pastors leading a violent overthrow to impose forced Christian government” comes from a single opinion column. An opinion column is not the same as a news report. This specific claim has not been confirmed by a separate news investigation or any recording of TTP meetings.
The Other Side
TTP and FLJ supporters would say they are doing what political organizations have always done: organizing voters, training candidates, and working to elect people who share their values. Training Christians to run for office is protected political activity under the First Amendment. The same logic applies to similar training programs run by organizations on the left.
That argument is weakest on TTP’s 2024 conference. Inviting a speaker with documented ties to white supremacist networks goes beyond normal civic organizing.
What to Watch
- The November 2026 general election is 80 days away. Results in Tarrant County will show whether TTP-backed candidates recover from May 2025 losses.
- A federal court will review the Johnson Amendment case. The ruling will affect how legally risky it is for churches to endorse candidates openly.
- FLJ is expanding Campaign University to churches outside Texas. This will show whether the Tarrant County model becomes a national movement.
- FLJ’s tax-exempt nonprofit status remains an open question after the Texas Observer’s reporting.
Sources
- In North Texas, Julie McCarty and Tea Party Flourish
- About — True Texas Project
- North Texas conservative group sets up shop in Bexar County
- Judge Stops IRS Deal That Would Allow Nonprofit Political Speech
- A Fort Worth church’s online class trains Christians to run for office. Now it may go national
- “No Separation Between Church and State”: Inside a Texas Church’s Training Academy for Christians Running for Office
- City Hall told the Botanic Garden to host the True Texas Project. Here’s what we get
- Denton: Carlos Turcios, Defeating DEI — True Texas Project
- Mercy Culture pastor, Texas Rep. Nate Schatzline joining Trump’s national faith board
- Rep. Nate Schatzline to join faith group, not seek reelection
- IRS says churches can endorse political candidates without losing tax-exempt status
- Is Rep Nate Schatzline Misusing Nonprofit to Play Partisan Politics?
- Republican PACs threw support behind Tarrant council, school board candidates. Most lost
- Newly formed Tarrant shadow PACs turbocharge hyperlocal GOP precinct chair races
- True Texas Project Tarrant County — Tarrant County GOP
- ‘War on White America’: Influential Texas group hosting pro-Christian nationalist conference
- True Texas Project Makes SPLC’s List of Anti-Government Groups for Third Consecutive Year
