BY JOLT STAFF
Organization Alleges Texas AG Paxton Filed Corporate ‘Death Penalty’ Lawsuit After Jolt Successfully Challenged Earlier Intimidation Tactics
AUSTIN, TX – Jolt Initiative has filed a new federal lawsuit and motion for a preliminary injunction against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. The legal action seeks to immediately halt the Attorney General’s unconstitutional and retaliatory campaign aimed at revoking the organization’s corporate charter.
Attorney General Paxton’s lawsuit against Jolt, a civil quo warranto proceeding filed in state court, is in direct retaliation for Jolt’s protected First Amendment activities, including its voter registration drives and its previous federal lawsuit challenging an intrusive document demand from the Attorney General’s office.
A clear pattern of retaliation:
- Initial Investigation: In August 2024, following baseless conspiracy theories circulated on social media, the Attorney General launched an investigation into Latino-focused voter registration groups and served Jolt with a sweeping “Request to Examine” (RTE) demanding confidential information, including the identities of its Volunteer Deputy Registrars (VDRs) and the voters with whom they engaged. The RTE targeted Jolt because of its protected expression, including its voter registration drives and public speech on matters of importance to Latinos in Texas.
- Jolt Files the First Suit: In September 2024, Jolt filed a federal lawsuit challenging the RTE as a violation of its First Amendment rights and the Voting Rights Act.
- Immediate Retaliation: Rather than defending the RTE in court, the Attorney General withdrew the demand and secured a dismissal of the federal case based on assurances that he would not file another RTE on the same subject matter. Crucially, on the very same day the federal case was closed (October 23, 2025), he filed the quo warranto action in Tarrant County state court, seeking to dissolve Jolt’s corporate charter and end its operations in Texas.
“Let the record show that the Texas Attorney General is using the power of his office to silence Latino voters,” said Jackie Bastard, Executive Director of Jolt Initiative. “After we challenged his first unconstitutional attempt to intimidate us, he escalated his attack by moving straight to the corporate ‘death penalty’, seeking to revoke our ability to exist. The state’s quo warranto petition is explicitly retaliatory, citing our voter registration activity and prior lawsuit as a reason for its filing.”
The state’s actions have created a chilling effect on Jolt’s VDRs and the Latino community, who fear harassment, exposure of personal information, and retribution for engaging in the constitutionally protected act of civic participation.
“This campaign is not about election integrity; it is an act of political intimidation intended to suppress the vote of young Latinos in Texas,” said Maria Tolentino, Director of Programs at Jolt Initiative. “We refuse to be bullied. We are asking the federal court to intervene immediately to protect our First Amendment right to speak, associate, and petition the government, and to ensure we can continue our vital work of civic engagement.”
Jolt’s federal complaint asserts claims under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits intimidation against people for “urging or aiding any person to vote or attempt to vote.” Jolt is seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction to stop the Attorney General from pursuing the retaliatory quo warranto action. The federal lawsuit follows Jolt’s response to the state court suit, which was filed in Tarrant County district court on November 10, 2025.
