In 2023, Dr. Malcolm Tanner announced his intent to create a settlement for Black Americans in Texas. Now, state officials have issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the Indiana resident, claiming that Tanner is “attempting to overthrow the government.”
Tanner is the founder of Melanated People of Power. His plan to create a melanated community includes moving Black families to Loving County, Texas, with the promise of free homes, financial stipends, and ultimately political influence.
Tanner has purchased 5 acres of land in Loving County in an area with less than 100 residents. The land does not yet host any permanent homes; instead, it features RVs, tents, and generators.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sought a TRO to stop the development of the community.
According to the legal filings, the encampment is in direct violation of the state’s health code due to the “lack of sewer access, septic systems, running water, and limited electricity.”
Tanner responded in a message posted to his TikTok page, claiming that his endeavors are righteous and that the land is being unjustly stolen from the people.
“I came to Loving County with a simple vision: to
build homes, to build community, and to live under the rights that faith grants and the Constitution protects,” Tanner wrote in a message he showed on the platform. “I believed, as every American has the right to believe, that land purchased lawfully could be used lawfully, that families could live in peace, and that children could grow in safety. Instead, what we built was destroyed. What we worked for was attacked.”Due to multiple residents of the “melanated community” registering to vote using a common P.O. Box associated with the property; a voter fraud inquiry may be on the horizon.
On Oct. 3, two Texas state politicians, Senator Kevin Sparks and Rep. Brooks Landgraf, wrote an open letter urging the Texas Attorney General and the Secretary of State to look into Loving County voter irregularities.
“Indiana resident Malcolm Tanner has no right to try and take over Loving County with illegal schemes that endanger real Texans,” Paxton said in a press release. “His deceptive and unlawful scheme to lure people with free housing for the purpose of conducting a political takeover is a disgustingly fraudulent plot to line his own pockets.”
Tanner, who continues to encourage his social media followers to “join the movement” and never pay rent again, has defended his initiative as a form of self-empowerment and self-determined placemaking.
“We’re going to build y’all a home,” he said in a TikTok post. “If you’re ready to get a home with me out in Texas, come out to Loving County, Texas.”
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