Texas National Guard Disbands Intel Unit
29th August 2023
Four members of the Texas National Guard are being disciplined, and their unit is being disbanded, after whistleblowers alleged they were using the WhatsApp communications platform to infiltrate and monitor illegal migrant and smuggler groups in violation of the organization’s rules against spying operations, according to a joint report by the Texas Tribune and Military Times.
According to the report, six military intelligence officials assigned to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star National Guard deployment at the border turned over the names of four officers who were using WhatsApp to join migrant and smuggler chat groups to solicit assistance in investigating “targets” the unit identified to federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security during a February 2022 meeting.
No good deed goes unpunished.