Draft:Texas Nationalist Movement

The ideology of the TNM is that of a Texas nationalist party. Its positions are outlined in Texit: Why and How Texas Will Leave the Union, a book written by its president.{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=Daniel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BOG_swEACAAJ |title=Texit: Why and How Texas Will Leave the Union |date=2018 |publisher=Defiance Press & Publishing, LLC |isbn=978-1-948035-08-8 |language=en}}

According to its website, the objective of the Texas Nationalist Movement is "the complete, total and unencumbered political, cultural and economic independence of Texas".{{cite web |url= http://www.texasnationalist.com/index.php/about-us/what-we-believe |title= What we believe |author= |publisher= Texas Nationalist Movement |access-date= January 20, 2013 |archive-date= January 12, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130112204237/http://www.texasnationalist.com/index.php/about-us/what-we-believe |url-status= live }} Unlike its predecessor, TNM claims to work peaceably{{cite web |url=http://texnat.org/64-tnm-u/activism/2268-a-guide-to-effective-nonviolent-struggle |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518090630/http://texnat.org/64-tnm-u/activism/2268-a-guide-to-effective-nonviolent-struggle |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 18, 2015 |title=A "Guide to Effective Nonviolent Struggle"}} with the current political system, and to reject use of force to achieve its goals. TNM is an unincorporated association under the laws of the State of Texas. The organization focuses on political support and advocacy, and education surrounding the issue of secession. It seeks to have the Texas Legislature call for a state-wide referendum on the issue, similar to the Scottish Independence vote of 2014.

The Texas Nationalist Movement (TNM) was established in 2005 as a breakaway faction from the more radical Republic of Texas group that believed Texas was illegally occupied by the US.

In January 2013, members of the TNM rallied at the state capital in Austin to promote the resolution, resulting in one mention of secession by one lawmaker on the opening day of the legislative session.{{cite news |author=Manny Fernandez |date=January 15, 2013 |title=White House Rejects Petitions to Secede, but Texans Fight On |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/16/us/politics/texas-secession-movement-unbowed-by-white-house-rejection.html?_r=0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119125702/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/16/us/politics/texas-secession-movement-unbowed-by-white-house-rejection.html?_r=0 |archive-date=January 19, 2013 |access-date=January 22, 2013 |newspaper=New York Times |location=New York}} In May 2016, the Texas GOP narrowly rejected bringing a resolution for secession to a floor vote at the 2016 Texas Republican Convention.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/04/19/the-texas-secession-movement-is-getting-kind-of-serious/|title=Texas Republicans have opted not to secede from the United States, after all|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=April 18, 2017|archive-date=April 19, 2016|archive-url=https://archive.today/20160419224655/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/04/19/the-texas-secession-movement-is-getting-kind-of-serious/|url-status=live}} However, in 2020, the Republican Party of Texas included a plank in its party platform (with 93% approval) stating that the federal government has impaired Texas' right to self-government, that any legislation infringing upon the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution "should be ignored, opposed, refused, and nullified", and that Texas retains the right to secede if any future Congress or President change the current political system from a constitutional republic to something else.{{Cite web |url=https://tnm.me/news/tnm-news/vindicated-texas-gop-passes-tnms-secession-plank-with-93-support |title=Vindicated: Texas GOP Passes TNM's Secession Plank with 93% Support |date=October 15, 2020 |access-date=November 5, 2020 |archive-date=November 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105023017/https://tnm.me/news/tnm-news/vindicated-texas-gop-passes-tnms-secession-plank-with-93-support |url-status=live }} In June 2022, it voted to include a further secessionist plank in its party platform, calling for the Texas Legislature to approve a referendum on whether Texas should secede from the Union on the 2023 statewide ballot.{{Cite news |last=Chappell |first=Bill |date=2022-06-20 |title=Texas GOP's new platform says Biden didn't really win. It also calls for secession |language=en |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/06/20/1106229988/texas-gops-new-platform-says-biden-didnt-really-win-it-also-calls-for-secession |access-date=2022-06-20 |archive-date=June 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621051216/https://www.npr.org/2022/06/20/1106229988/texas-gops-new-platform-says-biden-didnt-really-win-it-also-calls-for-secession |url-status=live }}

In 2015, a representative from the Texas Nationalist Movement attended a separatist conference in Russia. Public record show that the conference was almost entirely paid for by the Kremlin's "National Charitable Foundation".{{cite web |title=Texas, California Separatists Attend Kremlin-Funded Conference |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/texas-california-separatists-attend-pro-kremlin-conference/story?id=42395066 |website=ABCNews.com}}{{cite web |title=National Charitable Foundation Competition |url=http://nbfond.ru/konkurs-grantov/granty-2016/granty-2016-1/2164-2/ |website=nbfond.ru/}}

During Russia's 2016 interference operations in the U.S., a fake Russian Facebook page, dubbed "Heart of Texas," claimed it was passing information about supporters along to the Texas Nationalist Movement.{{Cite web|title=Inside the Russian effort to fuel American secessionists|date=February 26, 2018 |url=https://archive.thinkprogress.org/russia-texas-california-separatism-9809aca9f61d/|access-date=2021-12-22|language=en-US|archive-date=December 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222225453/https://archive.thinkprogress.org/russia-texas-california-separatism-9809aca9f61d/|url-status=live}}

In May 2016, the Texas GOP narrowly rejected a proposal to bring a secession resolution to a vote at the Texas Republican Convention.

In 2020, the Republican Party of Texas incorporated a significant plank into its platform, with 93% approval, which criticized federal overreach and affirmed Texas' right to self-governance. This plank denounced any federal legislation infringing on the Tenth Amendment and stated that Texas could secede if the political system were fundamentally altered by future Congresses or Presidents. {{Cite web |date=October 15, 2020 |title=Vindicated: Texas GOP Passes TNM's Secession Plank with 93% Support |url=https://tnm.me/news/tnm-news/vindicated-texas-gop-passes-tnms-secession-plank-with-93-support |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105023017/https://tnm.me/news/tnm-news/vindicated-texas-gop-passes-tnms-secession-plank-with-93-support |archive-date=November 5, 2020 |access-date=November 5, 2020}}

In June 2022, it voted to include a further secessionist plank in its party platform, calling for the Texas Legislature to approve a referendum on whether Texas should secede from the Union on the 2023 statewide ballot.{{Cite news |last=Chappell |first=Bill |date=2022-06-20 |title=Texas GOP's new platform says Biden didn't really win. It also calls for secession |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/06/20/1106229988/texas-gops-new-platform-says-biden-didnt-really-win-it-also-calls-for-secession |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621051216/https://www.npr.org/2022/06/20/1106229988/texas-gops-new-platform-says-biden-didnt-really-win-it-also-calls-for-secession |archive-date=June 21, 2022 |access-date=2022-06-20 |work=NPR |language=en}}

In 2024, the TNM declared its support for secessionist groups in Northern Mexico.{{Cite web |date=2024-04-09 |title=TNM President Announces Support For Northern Mexico Secession Efforts Over Border Crisis |url=https://news.tnm.me/presidents-desk/statements/tnm-president-announces-support-for-northern-mexico-secession-efforts-over-border-crisis/ |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=TNM News |language=en-US}} In 2024, Miller submitted over 140,000 signatures from petitions signed in support of secession. Miller said of the rising support for secession:

If you look at where support is for this issue right now, in this lifecycle of an independence movement, we're outperforming Brexit, we're outperforming Scottish independence and we're outperforming Catalan — and we're outperforming everyone at every stage of the process.{{Cite web |last=Karlis |first=Michael |date=Feb 13, 2024 |title=Texas Nationalist Movement demands Gov. Greg Abbott hold special session to discuss 'TEXIT' |url=https://www.sacurrent.com/news/texas-nationalist-movement-demands-gov-greg-abbott-hold-special-session-to-discuss-texit-33804895 |access-date=October 31, 2024 |website=www.sacurrent.com}}{{Cite web |last=Doherty |first=Brian |date=2024-10-13 |title=Secession is back in style in Texas |url=https://reason.com/2024/10/13/texit-stage-right/?utm_medium=reason_email&utm_source=new_at_reason&utm_campaign=reason_brand&utm_content=Police%20Want%20the%20Password%20to%20Your%20Phone&utm_term=&time=October%2014th,%202024&mpid=38717&mpweb=2534-4689-38717 |access-date=2024-10-31 |website=Reason.com |language=en-US}}

In 2024, it made a PAC called the Texas Nationalist Movement-Political Action Committee.

In November 2024, the Texas Nationalist Movement announced that 10 candidates who support its secessionist goals were elected to the Texas Legislature. TNM president Daniel Miller described the outcome as a "clear signal that Texans are ready to reclaim their right to self-government." The organization reported that 65 current Texas officeholders had signed the "Texas First Pledge," a commitment to principles such as upholding Texans’ right to alter their government, supporting independence legislation, and honoring the outcome of any referendum on Texan secession.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-08 |title=Candidates who support Texas secession elected to state Legislature |url=https://san.com/cc/candidates-who-support-texas-secession-elected-to-state-legislature/ |access-date=2025-05-03 |website=Straight Arrow News |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2020-09-04 |title=The TEXAS FIRST Pledge |url=https://taketexasback.com/pledge/ |access-date=2025-05-03 |language=en-US}}

On February 4, 2025, the TNM launched its first official county branch in Angelina County. The event, held in Lufkin, marked what the group described as a "major milestone" in grassroots organizing. TNM leader Daniel Miller stated the group is now active or organizing in over 60 of Texas's 254 counties, which together represent approximately 78% of Texas voters.{{Cite web |date=2025-02-05 |title=Texas independence movement takes "foundational step" |url=https://www.newsweek.com/texas-independence-movement-takes-foundational-step-2026431 |access-date=2025-05-03 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}

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