Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) is threatening to strip a Dallas-area city of more than half a million dollars in state funding unless it cancels a planned religious-exclusive event at a taxpayer-owned water park.
In a letter sent Wednesday, Gov. Abbott's Public Safety Office warned Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen that the city has until May 11 to confirm it will not allow the event to proceed, or face the loss of approximately $530,000 in public safety grants and a ban on future state funding.
The event at the center of the dispute is "DFW Epic Eid," scheduled at Epic Waters Indoor Water Park, a city-owned facility operated by American Resort Management. Promotional materials originally described the gathering as a "Muslim Only Event" that was "closed to the public."
Organizers later scrubbed that language, replacing it with "All Are Welcome," though the event's website continued to state that the venue had been "exclusively reserved for Muslims" and that attendees must "at all times dress in accordance with Islamic values."
Abbotts Argument
Gov. Abbott's office argued that hosting such an event on government-owned property raises serious constitutional and civil rights concerns, drawing a direct comparison in the letter: "An event at a city-owned pool that was publicly and indiscriminately advertised as 'Whites only' would surely violate the Constitution. The same must be true here."
The letter noted that when Grand Prairie accepted its state grants, the city manager agreed to comply with all state and federal statutes relating to civil rights and nondiscrimination, including a prohibition on discriminating based on religion in the delivery of services or benefits.
"That's religious discrimination. It's unconstitutional," Abbott then posted on X.
Abbott's office said it considers the city to currently be in breach of those agreements.
If Grand Prairie does not respond by the May 11 deadline with a written commitment to cancel the event and prevent similar ones in the future, the state said it may terminate all five active grants and require full repayment within 30 days.
City officials have not publicly responded to the letter as of the time of this report.
"Let this be a lesson to local officials: Facilities funded by ALL taxpayers are not just for a subset of Texans," Abbott concluded.
