Texas Supreme Court steps into trans mailers case, halting deposition

The fight to find out who sent the transgender mailers to homes across the state hit a speedbump Friday when the Supreme Court of Texas issued an order pausing the deposition scheduled for that morning.

The mailer, which presents itself as a resource guide for LGBTQ+ students, began showing up in mailboxes across Texas as early voting got underway for the Nov. 3 election. It was addressed to students and sent by what appears to be a fictitious transgender rights organization.

Earlier in the week, a Travis County district court judge had ordered that the organization featured in the flyers, the Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT), could depose someone associated with the Texas Transgender Student Union, LLC, which was listed on the flyers' return address. 

The Texas Transgender Student Union appears to have no website, social media presence or any other online footprint, and business records reviewed by the CBS News Texas I-Team show a company registered under that name in Wyoming.

According to state filings, Texas Transgender Student Union LLC was formed on Sept. 2, 2026, using an address at 30 N. Gould St. in Sheridan, Wyoming.

One of Wyoming's biggest draws is privacy. State law does not require LLC owners or members to be publicly listed in business filings. In many cases, a public search reveals only the company name and registered agent, not the individuals who control the business. Wyoming is home to roughly 900,000 active business entities, according to the Wyoming Secretary of State, despite having a population of only about 590,000 people.

Mailers spark backlash

An attorney for TENT told the judge that the mailers, and a similar series of text messages, impersonated the organization and made it look like it was reaching out unsolicited to other people's children.

The messages and mailers have caused widespread confusion, said Mimi Marziani, and death threats for the people connected to TENT.

The nonprofit has had to deactivate its website, suspend programming, retain counsel and hire security, Marziani said.

According to Marziani, TENT estimates between 3.6 million and 4.2 million mailers went out across Texas, an effort that would cost far more than the organization's annual $1 million budget.

She said whoever is behind the mailers is "flouting Texas law and going to great lengths to shield themselves from public scrutiny."

But an attorney for TTSU had a different take. "The first amendment protects speech 365 days a year - especially in an election year," said Chris Hilton.

Hilton maintained that the mailers had nothing to do with the election and were not political in nature, pointing out that they did not mention a candidate or party.

"TTSU did nothing wrong other than engage in speech," he told the judge, adding that TENT's real goal is to "identify anyone with TTSU to expose their identity to the social media mob they've whipped up."

As for the return address, which is nearly identical to TENT's street address, Hilton called it a "typo" that was the fault of the printer.
He called the request for depositions this week an effort to create "false urgency to further TENT's political goals."

After a five-minute recess, the judge ruled against TTSU and InfoBip, stating that both companies must comply with depositions this week, a decision Hilton said he would appeal.

SCOTX steps in

According to the order from the Texas Supreme Court, attorneys for TTSU filed a mandamus petition and a motion for temporary relief to prevent the depositions. Both of those motions are still pending, but on Friday the state Supreme Court put the district court's order on hold and directed attorneys to respond by 10 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 2.

In a call with the media on Friday afternoon, Marziani called TTSU's motion to the supreme court "highly unusual," saying that TENT was notified about it late Thursday and learned of the stay about 15 minutes before the deposition was scheduled to begin.

According to Marziani, TTSU's attorneys are "well-connected and well-known in conservative circles." Hilton used to work for the Attorney General's office. In 2023, he took a leave of absence to help defend Ken Paxton in his impeachment hearings. He has since left the AG's office and is now in private practice. 

Marziani said that while a lot of questions remain about who was responsible for the texts and mailers, she now has enough information to move forward with legal action.

"It's clear to me that this was a false flag operation by right-wing operatives," Marziani said, adding that whoever was behind it was "willing to break laws and hurt a lot of people in pursuit of their political goals."

Text message mystery

A separate deposition that took place Thursday focused on text messages that carried similar messaging to the mailers and links to TENT.

In that deposition, telecommunications company Infobip identified the customers tied to two phone numbers that it says sent the messages as the "Republican Women's Caucus Fund" and someone named John Braun.

In a statement to CBS News Texas, a spokesperson for the Republican Women's Caucus Fund denied any involvement.

"The Republican Women's Caucus Fund (RWCF) has had absolutely no involvement in the text messaging or direct mail activities at issue in Texas. We did not authorize, fund, direct, coordinate, or participate in these activities in any capacity."

"RWCF has been wrongfully named in this lawsuit. We categorically reject these false allegations and are pursuing all available legal remedies to protect our organization and hold those responsible accountable."

Statement from Infobip:

Please note that Infobip, acting solely as a provider of transmission services, did not author or originate the content of the messages in question. Upon becoming aware of the issue, we took immediate action. We have suspended the traffic in question and are actively monitoring the situation to prevent further occurrences. Infobip has no business relationship with Texas Transgender Student Union LLC. Furthermore, we are in active contact and cooperating with TENT's lawyer on this matter.

In accordance with standard practices in the communications industry, Infobip received the messages from its customers and routed them to the telecommunications operators. Infobip fully complies with its contractual obligations and court orders and conducts its business in accordance with all applicable regulatory requirements.

Infobip has duly provided the requested information in accordance with the order issued by the competent court.

The competent court's order requested the identification of Infobip's customer and other information relating to the relevant telephone numbers. For reasons of confidentiality, we are unable to disclose more information. The name of Infobip customer is under confidentiality protection, therefore Infobip nor any other person is legally able to reveal it publicly.