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Who is Ken Paxton? How Texas Attorney General could become the face of the conservative war on Big Tech

Paxton has been a stout supporter of Trump and has never shied away from sharing his belief in the Trump administration

After President Donald Trump was banned indefinitely on social networking sites including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, in the wake of the violence and riots at the U.S Capitol, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has vowed to fight BigTech with all he’s got. 

He tweeted, “Twitter/Facebook closing conservative accts. Google shutting down Parler. @Apple threatening to do the same. BigTech hates free speech. As we enter the Biden era, they stand ready/willing to be the left’s Chinese-style thought police. As AG, I will fight them with all I’ve got."

However, it remains to be seen how Paxton plans on staging his war against the social networking sites that have purged thousands of conservative accounts after seeing an increased number of posts inciting violence as the presidential inauguration nears. 

For the unversed, Paxton has been a stout supporter of Trump and has never shied away from sharing his belief in the Trump administration. After pro-Trump protesters stormed the Capitol, the AG shared a tweet that read, "Peaceful protests are constitutional. Violent protests are not. Patriots care about election integrity and the law."

He also re-tweeted the viral post about a "busload" of Antifa activists allegedly infiltrating the pro-Trump protesters at the Capitol and established that ones involved in violence aren't MAGA followers.  

Who is Ken Paxton?

Paxton who currently serves as the Attorney General of Texas is a Tea Party conservative. He is said to be under indictment on securities fraud since 2015 but hasn't pleaded guilty. In 2020, he was also accused by the members of his own party of bribery, abuse of office and other crimes. 

Just a day after the mob of protesters flooded the Capitol violently, Democrat Chris Turner called for Paxton's thorough investigation, questioning his alleged role in Wednesday's riots. He wrote in his statement, "From filing a fraudulent lawsuit that fueled unhinged conspiracy theories about a free and fair election, to egging on the crowd of insurrectionists in Washington, DC, Paxton has played a major role in creating the national crisis that culminated with the first breach of our nation’s capital since the War of 1812." He further added that the legislators need to "consider all options at our disposal to hold this out-of-control Attorney General accountable."

Turner's statements were however brushed off as "absurd" by Paxton's spokesperson Ian Prior, who said, "The Attorney General is absolutely against politically motivated violence of any kind. This sentiment applies to people who stormed the Capitol yesterday, and it applies to the people who burned down businesses and police stations while terrorizing communities across the country this past summer.”

The accusations were directed at Paxton after he took the stage along with his wife and Trump and Rudy Giuliani for the rally, shortly after which the riots broke. At the rally, seconding Trump's claims that the election was rigged, Paxton said on the stage, “It is so awesome to be here. I want you to know that Texas fights. We fought."

He further added, "What we have in President Trump is a fighter. And I think that’s why we’re all here. We believe in what he’s accomplished over the last four years. Because we’re here today, the message goes on. We will not quit fighting.”