Latest news with #TexasRepublicanParty
Globe and Mail
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
Canadian hacker feels remorse for role Anonymous members played in rise of Trump
More than two decades ago, a group of young, predominantly male internet users started congregating on an online forum called 4chan, where they circulated memes, co-ordinated pranks and orchestrated disinformation campaigns. A subset of them formed a loose collective that called itself Anonymous. But what began as 'fun and high jinks' kicked off what Canadian hacker Aubrey Cottle characterizes as 'a chain reaction that resulted in the alt-right online culture wars and … essentially blossomed into the rise of Trump.' Today, the 38-year-old resident of Oshawa, Ont., feels culpable for the role he believes that he and other members of Anonymous played in inadvertently helping Donald Trump become the President of the United States. 'It's hard not to beat yourself up constantly,' said Mr. Cottle, who describes himself as an 'anarchist anti-fascist' and is known online by the alias Kirtaner. Mr. Cottle was arrested and charged earlier this year for allegedly hacking into and defacing the Texas Republican Party's website nearly four years ago, according to a U.S. criminal complaint unsealed in March. His lawyers have called the timing of the charges 'peculiar,' noting in a statement that Canadian law enforcement's decision to co-operate with U.S. authorities came in the wake of Mr. Trump's return to office. The extent to which members of Anonymous may have influenced the course of U.S. politics or benefited Mr. Trump is difficult to ascertain. Many of the causes that the hacktivists have taken on over the years have fallen on the left side of the political spectrum. But the collective's tactics wound up informing a contingent of far-right users on the platform, according to author Dale Beran, who penned a book about Anonymous called It Came From Something Awful: How a Toxic Troll Army Accidentally Memed Donald Trump into Office. Those alt-right users would go on to launch viral disinformation campaigns such as 'Pizzagate,' Mr. Beran said. The conspiracy theory falsely claimed that Mr. Trump's rival Hillary Clinton and other Democrats were running a child-trafficking ring out of a Washington pizza parlour. 'There are many, many reasons why Donald Trump got elected to office,' Mr. Beran said. The internet culture spawned on 4chan wasn't the main one, he said, but 'it was a contributing factor.' Mr. Cottle, who is currently out on bail, declined to comment on the criminal charges he's facing on both sides of the border. But during a wide-ranging, two-hour-long interview, he expressed remorse for how his early involvement with Anonymous may have contributed to what he considers to be 'many of the world's problems.' 'There's a lot of guilt, and I just had a drive to personally atone for quite a lot of mistakes and damage that I ended up doing to modern society,' he said. Aubrey Cottle grew up in Toronto to the whirring of computer fans and the screeching of dial-up modems. He had a Commodore 64, a wildly popular eight-bit home computer, in his childhood bedroom. His father, a technophile who worked at a dial-up internet service provider, installed a modem next to Mr. Cottle's bed when he was seven years old. 'I literally grew up just completely immersed in the internet from the very, very, very early years of the internet,' he said. At school, Mr. Cottle was the 'nerdy outcast,' he recalled. After years of bullying, he snapped at his tormentors during the seventh grade, threatening to kill the students who had broken into his locker and ripped up his Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering trading cards. Mr. Cottle said he was arrested, then spent two years at a children's mental-health treatment facility located on a farm near Blue Mountain, on a cocktail of medications. Uninterested in socializing with the other kids, whom he described as 'really troubled,' he passed most of his time camping on the property with the youth workers and learning skills such as woodworking. He was eventually transferred to a Toronto facility, he said. There, he met a fellow patient whose older brother belonged to a software-piracy group and taught him some basic hacking tricks. Mr. Cottle met Christopher Poole, who would go on to create 4chan and was known as 'moot,' on an internet forum called Something Awful. 'A lot of internet culture came from that community,' Mr. Cottle said. 'It was a lot of really, really edgy people – people being edgy, but funny. Internet humour came from Something Awful.' The moniker Anonymous came from the fact that users posting on 4chan were anonymous by default. That anonymity emboldened the site's users, and the platform was rife with controversial content, including pornography and gore. The collective undertook its first full-blown hacking and harassment campaign in 2007. The target was Hal Turner, a neo-Nazi radio host. In addition to taking down his website, the group clogged his phone lines with prank calls and ordered dozens of pizzas to his home. 'I was vicious to that man, absolutely and utterly vicious,' Mr. Cottle said. 'I basically treated him like a plaything for months.' According to Mr. Cottle, his campaign against Mr. Turner caught the attention of Canada's intelligence agency. An agent from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service paid Mr. Cottle a visit one day and tried to recruit him, he said. Mr. Cottle, who'd been playing video games with a friend and was decked out in neon-green raver pants and candy bracelets, ushered the suited visitor to his room, but never took him up on the offer. CSIS said in a statement that the agency 'does not confirm or deny such claims in order to protect the sensitive activities, techniques, methods, and sources of intelligence that we rely on to ensure the safety, security, and prosperity of Canada.' That year, Fox News aired a segment portraying Anonymous as a powerful cabal of domestic terrorists that had threatened to bomb sports stadiums. It included footage of an exploding van that, according to Mr. Cottle, had nothing to do with Anonymous. Still, 4chan's traffic spiked after the broadcast. The site's moderators were unable to keep up, and its culture of playful misanthropy began to erode. 'That's when 4chan started truly turning into a cesspool,' Mr. Cottle said. Years later, users on 4chan's far-right politics board started workshopping viral disinformation campaigns, according to Mr. Beran. One of the outcomes of that process was QAnon, a conspiracy theory put forward by someone known as 'Q' that falsely claimed that Mr. Trump was waging a secret battle against a clan of Satan-worshipping pedophiles. QAnon supporters were among the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 'QAnon came off of 4chan, like Anonymous did,' said Mr. Beran, who described the movement as 'a reconfigured, Anonymous-style misinformation campaign … with some more right-wing derangement in it.' U.S. authorities allege that on Sept. 11, 2021, the 20th anniversary of the the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Anonymous hackers infiltrated Epik, a web-hosting company once known as a haven for deplatformed members of the far right. (The company has since changed ownership and announced early last year that it had cut ties with 'far-right bad actors.') Gaining access to Epik allowed the hackers to deface the Texas Republican Party's website, replacing its banner with pornography, cartoon characters and a music video. They also obtained personal information from the site and made it available for download, according to the U.S. criminal complaint. Authorities allege that Mr. Cottle bragged in Discord messages about being responsible for the attack, taunting law enforcement by directly addressing 'the fbi agents reading my discord logs.' The stolen Texas GOP data were later found on his computer, they allege. In recent years, Mr. Cottle has participated in a number of online activities with political overtones. In 2021, he and several friends created fake accounts for Mr. Trump and other political figures on a not-yet-released version of the then-former president's social-media site, Truth Social, he said. They used the fake accounts to post what Mr. Cottle described as 'absolute nonsense,' including an image of a defecating pig. Mr. Cottle has previously taken credit on TikTok for the 2022 hack targeting GiveSendGo, the crowdfunding platform that was used to finance the truck convoy protests that clogged Ottawa streets that winter. However, he declined to comment on that incident during this interview. Some time after the Epik intrusion, police raided Mr. Cottle's home and seized his computers. Deprived of his usual means of earning income, Mr. Cottle said he wound up living out of his car with his dog, Mabari. Eventually, someone lent him a Winnebago motorhome, which housed him for a year and a half, he said. It was poorly insulated, and during the colder months he could see his breath and feel his toes going numb. The computer he'd acquired sucked up all of the power from the single extension cord he had access to. But gradually, he began to rebuild his life, finding work in the cryptocurrency space. For years, nothing seemed to come from the police raid, according to Mr. Cottle's lawyers. By the time he was arrested, Mr. Cottle was living on the ground floor of a small house in Oshawa, outfitting it with colourful LED lights and a 100-inch television. Mr. Cottle's next court appearance is slated for July 31. He's been charged in both Canada and the United States, and it's unclear whether U.S. authorities will seek to extradite him. In the meantime, Mr. Cottle is watching what he characterizes as a full-fledged descent into fascism south of the border. 'I can't say that if my situation was not as it were right now, if I didn't currently have legal problems, that I would be able to just sit back right now and watch,' Mr. Cottle said. But, he added, 'I'm not going to be hacking anything any time soon.'
CBS News
04-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
State Democrats may take legal action against Texas to block new school choice law
While dozens of Texas Republican lawmakers and those in the school choice movement will attend the historic ceremony, Democrats are considering their next move to attempt to block the bill. Texas Democratic Party chairman Kendall Scudder told me Democrats are considering taking legal action against the state to keep the education savings account bill from taking effect. In an interview with Jack Fink, Scudder said, "There isn't a lot that we can do on the policy front other than trying to litigate, which you very well may see. We're going to do everything and use every tool within our wheelhouse to try to protect community public schools from this onslaught of billionaires that are trying to keep our kids uneducated so they can keep their wages low... But let's be honest, it's a bit of a Hail Mary right now." The one-billion-dollar program will provide tax dollars for Texas students to attend private schools. Republicans say they are giving priority to disabled students and those from low-income families. However, Democrats say they believe most students who will enroll in the program will be from wealthy families and already attend private school. Texas Republican Party chairman Abraham George told Jack Fink he would welcome any lawsuit from the Democrats. "So the messaging to those parents is well, your kids are stuck in a failing school because you cannot afford to send them to a private school or a charter school or something else," said George. "So if that's what they want to take to the court and to the public square, I'm glad they're doing it because that will get more people to come to the Republican side and say, ok, we want a free market, we want school choice." The Texas Comptroller's Office is now charged with setting up this program, including setting the private schools that will take part, figuring out how parents can apply, and following the criteria set by lawmakers on how students will be selected. The law will go into effect during the 2026-27 school year.
CBS News
10-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Republicans in North Texas divided over Paxton vs. Cornyn in intense Senate race
Former Texas Republican Party Chairman Matt Rinaldi, who is close to Attorney General Ken Paxton, didn't waste any time backing him in the campaign to unseat Sen. John Cornyn . In an interview with CBS News Texas on Wednesday, Rinaldi said, "Absolutely, I'm endorsing the attorney general. It's a no-brainer for any conservative in this race. We have Ken Paxton firmly representing the Trump wing of the Republican Party. He's going to have strong support from conservatives. You have John Cornyn , who's been a senator of Texas for decades, who represents the Mitch McConnell wing of the Republican Party." Former longtime Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, a Republican, is supporting Sen. Cornyn. "He's very conservative and he's delivered a lot," Price told CBS News Texas on Wednesday. She said Cornyn has seniority in Washington, which Texas needs, and that he is always back home in the state. "Cornyn, the 10 years I served, was always here," Price said. "We could pick up the phone, call him, he was incredibly responsive. He has his team reach out to the local mayors, county judges, county commissioners on a regular basis. He is here in town." The attorney general announced his campaign Tuesday night on Laura Ingraham's show on Fox News Channel. He unveiled a new campaign video Wednesday that emphasizes his close ties to President Trump. Paxton told Ingraham it's time for a new senator. "Look, he's had 24 years of this, which I think is plenty given his lack of production," Paxton said. "It's hard to think of things he's done good for Texas or for the country." As for Cornyn, his campaign video also focused on his record of helping pass the Trump agenda during his first term. Speaking with reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, he went after Paxton. "Mr. Paxton has a checkered background," Cornyn said. "He is a con man and a fraud, and I think the people of Texas know that, but this is what will be litigated during the course of this campaign." When it comes to endorsements, the candidates, their supporters, Republicans, and Democrats are waiting to see whether President Trump will make an endorsement in this race. It will be a nasty, contentious, and expensive primary battle fought over the airwaves. Analysts say they believe Cornyn will have a fundraising advantage over Paxton. But turnout, as always, will be key. Typically, the grassroots conservatives, many of whom are in Paxton's corner, vote in the primaries. Rinaldi said that it favors the attorney general. "This is an incredibly intelligent and informed electorate, and I just don't think John Cornyn's money can compete with Ken Paxton and results," Rinaldi said. "People often times ignore primaries and say I'll vote for him in the general," Price said. "You can't vote for him just in the general. If you want to select the candidate, you have to do it in the primary, and I think this will be critical. I think people know Cornyn. They're comfortable with what he's done. The average citizen, I think, will go out and vote for him." Watch Eye on Politics at 7:30 Sunday morning on CBS News Texas on air and streaming. Follow Jack on X: @cbs11jack
CBC
04-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Oshawa, Ont., man charged after allegedly stealing, leaking Texas Republican Party data
An Ontario man is facing charges in an alleged theft and leak of Texas Republican Party data in 2021. The U.S. Department of Justice says the 37-old-man from Oshawa was arrested last week and is facing charges under Canadian law. It says the accused gained unauthorized access to a third-party hosting company's computer system to "deface and download a backup of Texas Republican Party's server." The justice department says the man claimed responsibility for the cyberattack on social media and a search of his electronic devices showed he was "in possession of the data stolen from the Texas Republican Party." Officials say the stolen data contained personal information and was allegedly distributed online and made available for downloading. The man has been charged with unlawfully transferring, possessing, or using a means of identification in connection with illegal activity.
New York Times
02-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
A Senate Blockbuster Looms in Texas, as Paxton Prepares to Challenge Cornyn
Ken Paxton, the attorney general of Texas, is getting ready to challenge Senator John Cornyn in what could be the nastiest and most expensive Republican Party showdown of the 2026 election. In an interview on Tuesday in Dallas, Mr. Paxton tiptoed close to declaring himself a candidate, offering up the kind of legislation he would first propose if elected to the Senate — tax cuts — and describing why he felt he could do more in Washington, D.C., than in Texas. 'I just think there's a lot of things that you could do at the federal level,' Mr. Paxton said. 'Trump can use the help and have a senator that actually is supportive and not critical.' Asked how he made his decision to run, Mr. Paxton began answering the question. Then he was reminded by a campaign consultant that he had not yet officially decided to run. 'Right,' Mr. Paxton said. The likelihood of a primary between Mr. Paxton and Mr. Cornyn has been growing in recent months. It would be perhaps the biggest electoral face-off yet in the ongoing war between the Texas Republican Party's old guard and an ascendant wing of hard-right social conservatives aligned with Mr. Paxton and President Trump. The looming clash has been among the worst kept secrets in Texas politics. 'Good luck with your primary, John,' posted Colin Allred, a former Democratic representative in Dallas who unsuccessfully challenged Senator Ted Cruz last year and has said he is considering entering the 2026 Senate race. Mr. Paxton, now in his third term, has been increasingly vocal in his criticism of Mr. Cornyn, mocking him on social media and during a recent interview with Tucker Carlson. The attorney general and legal firebrand has been buoyed in his thinking about a Senate run by internal Republican polling that shows him with a considerable advantage among the party's primary voters. A poll by Fabrizio, Lee & Associates, a firm used by the Trump campaign, found Mr. Paxton leading by a margin of 25 percentage points over Mr. Cornyn, and it grew with messages painting Mr. Cornyn as the more moderate candidate. The poll, conducted about two months ago by allies of Mr. Paxton, showed him also winning against a Democrat in the general election, but by a smaller margin. The internal polling results aligned with a nonpartisan poll from the University of Houston in February showing that more Republicans would 'definitely consider' voting for Mr. Paxton than for Mr. Cornyn, and that Mr. Paxton was viewed more favorably than Mr. Cornyn among Republican voters. Mr. Cornyn's campaign did not make him available for an interview. Mr. Cornyn, 73, has been in state politics for more than three decades. A former Texas attorney general and State Supreme Court judge, he was first elected to the Senate in 2002. Over that time, Texas has turned solidly Republican and the party's primaries have grown increasingly important, with the winner going on to victory in the general election in every statewide contest going back to the 1990s. With an affable old guard presence out of an era of business-oriented conservatism in Texas, Mr. Cornyn was seen as someone possibly destined to be Senate majority leader. But after the retirement of Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky from that post, Mr. Cornyn lost out to Senator John Thune of South Dakota last year. Mr. Cornyn is no longer in the Republican leadership. And his willingness to occasionally work across the aisle, including on a package of gun control legislation passed in the wake of the state's worst school shooting in Uvalde in 2022, enraged many conservatives. His approval ratings among conservatives dropped sharply at the time. He was booed loudly during an appearance at the activist-heavy Republican Party of Texas convention that year. Mr. Paxton, 62, recalled being at the convention — he was waiting to speak — and watching Mr. Cornyn deliver his speech amid the booing. 'It clicked for me,' the attorney general said. 'I knew he lost touch with the voters.' Mr. Cornyn officially announced his re-election campaign late last month with a video that leaned heavily on his actions on behalf of Mr. Trump. 'In President Trump's first term, I was Republican whip, delivering the votes for his biggest wins,' Mr. Cornyn said in the video. 'Now I'm running for re-election and asking for your support, so President Trump and I can pick up where we left off.' The senator recently posted a photograph of himself reading 'The Art of the Deal,' Mr. Trump's book. 'Recommended,' the post said. Mr. Paxton, for his part, has frequently used his office to support Mr. Trump, supporting the president's immigration enforcement efforts and, in 2020, suing to challenge the results of the election in four swing states. The Supreme Court threw out the case. Asked how, as a potential senator, he might handle an effort by Mr. Trump to remain in office after his second term, Mr. Paxton said he was not sure. 'My understanding is that there's constitutionally two terms, but I am no expert on that,' he said. 'It may or may not come up. But he's got to decide he's going to do a third term. And then we would deal with the issue.' An endorsement by the president would be a pivotal moment in the as-yet-undeclared race. Mr. Paxton, in his interview with The Times at a Dallas social club, said he had already been talking with people in the president's orbit about it. 'I haven't directly talked to him,' he said. 'I've talked to people around him. They're very aware of this ongoing possibility.' He added that he had heard 'nothing negative, that's for sure.' Indeed, things have been looking up for Mr. Paxton lately. For years, he had been battling overlapping corruption investigations into his actions as attorney general and a separate state indictment for securities fraud. But he emerged victorious, surviving an impeachment trial in the Texas Senate in 2023 and reaching a settlement last year in his criminal indictment, which involved paying restitution but not admitting to any wrongdoing. 'This is not the way it should be done in our country,' Mr. Paxton said. 'If you're elected, I don't care if you're a Democrat, the most liberal Democrat, that shouldn't happen to you any more than it should happen to me.' Mr. Paxton said his decision to officially declare his challenge rested on whether he believed he would have enough money to take on an incumbent senator. About $20 million should do it, he said. Respondents in the internal Fabrizio poll, obtained by The New York Times, were not unaware of the legal and ethical questions that have followed Mr. Paxton for much of his career. When respondents were asked about the issues and actions they most associated with Mr. Paxton, the top responses included 'border security' as well as 'corrupt/fraud/crook/liar.' For Mr. Cornyn, the top term associated with him underscored his challenges with an increasingly conservative Texas Republican primary electorate: 'RINO' — meaning, Republican in name only.
