Attorney General Ken Paxton Secures Restraining Order Against Malcolm Tanner’s Illegal Scheme to Take Over Texas County

AUSTIN, TX -- Attorney General Ken Paxton has secured a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) against Malcolm Tanner, stopping anyone else from joining his unlawful scheme to politically take over Loving County by promising “free” homes to people who will move and vote for his selected candidates.

“The show is over. A court has ordered that this illegal and deceptive political sham must come to an immediate end,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Malcolm Tanner is a two-bit charlatan attempting to defraud people out of their money with false promises of free homes and unlawful government payouts. Texas is for Texans, not out-of-state grifters trying to steal political power from the people who live here.”

Tanner, who is from Crawfordsville, Indiana, owns two five-acre tracts of land in Loving County, which have no utilities or improvements. Through social media videos, he explains that he will take over Loving County by offering free housing if people help him achieve his political ends. Despite there being no homes or utilities on the land, Tanner has induced dozens of people, including many women and children, to move onto and inhabit the land without any provision for the proper disposal and treatment of sewage. These individuals are forced to live in RVs or other makeshift shelters.

After launching an investigation into the situation, Attorney General Paxton immediately sued and has now secured a TRO preventing Tanner from continuing his operations in Loving County.

To read the TRO, click here.