Threats from far-right groups force National Butterfly Center in Texas to shut down

A Texas butterfly conservatory near the border with Mexico is closing down out of concern for safety after recent threats from far-right groups, outlets report.

The National Butterfly Center, a nonprofit “dedicated to the conservation and study of wild butterflies in their native habitats,” spans 100 acres and is by the border town of Mission, Texas.

In addition to conservation efforts, the center has been outspoken against the construction of a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, social media history shows.

It began fighting a legal battle in 2017 after discovering a stretch of border wall was slated for construction nearby, My Rio Grande Valley News reported, and with that, the National Butterfly Center put itself on the far-right radar.

“We regret to announce National Butterfly Center will be closed to the public for the immediate future. This difficult decision was made by the board of directors of the North American Butterfly Association, in the wake of recent events targeting ... us,” Jeffrey Glassberg, president and founder of the North American Butterfly Association, said in a Feb. 2 tweet.

Brian Kolfage, the man behind We Build The Wall, a nonprofit with the goal of raising funds to build a barrier along the U.S. southern border, began accusing the butterfly center of human trafficking, My Rio Grande Valley News reported. The center has been the target of threats for years now, much of them fueled by conspiracies.

Kimberly Lowe, a Virginia congressional candidate, apparently had those conspiracies in mind when she confronted the center’s executive director in late January and asked that she be shown the “illegals crossing on rafts,” the San Antonio News-Express reported.

They later got into a scuffle when the executive director, Marianna Wright, grabbed Lowe’s phone as she began recording a video accusing Wright of taking part in child-trafficking, the outlet reported.

The center also closed for a three-day period while the We Stand America event was held in nearby McAllen – an event focused “on Border Law Enforcement and the direct connection to Election Integrity from a Biblical worldview” – before opening back up.

In a statement, center staff said they had been warned the facility would be targeted by members or attendees of the event.

Then the center announced Feb. 2 that it would be shutting once again, indefinitely this time.

“The safety of our staff & visitors is our primary concern,” Glassberg said in a tweet. “We look forward to reopening, soon, when the authorities and professionals who are helping us navigate this situation give us the green light.”

This story was originally published February 2, 2022 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Threats from far-right groups force National Butterfly Center in Texas to shut down."