Olmsted condemns the EPIC City case as a campaign against Muslims
Edith OlmstedNew Republic staff writer, writing commentary
Olmsted argues that Abbott and Paxton constructed the securities-fraud case to target the Muslim community, citing Texas Monthly's investigation.
“concocted a securities fraud case as part of a sweeping crusade to target the state’s growing Muslim community.”
Analysis
Where this statement fits
Paxton sued EPIC City developers for securities fraud after the state securities board concluded the units were not securities
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the developers of the EPIC City housing project near Plano for securities fraud in December 2025. The Texas State Securities Board says its staff had concluded the project's land units were not securities and told Paxton's office so before he filed. A Texas Monthly report says advisers to Gov. Greg Abbott pressed the agency to refer the case.
Source and context
Analysis
About this source
Olmsted draws on Texas Monthly's reporting and condemns the case's basis and motives.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Her article opens with this characterization of Abbott and Paxton's case.
After the quotation
She describes the memo and the securities board's investigation, citing Texas Monthly.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case concerns the basis for Paxton's securities-fraud lawsuit. Olmsted explicitly condemns both its basis and the motives she attributes to state officials.
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More from this case
Read the full caseYasir Qadhi says Paxton sued EPIC after the state's securities regulator found no violation
“In March of last year, Abbott’s office drew up a secret memo listing every law the state could use against EPIC. However, the state’s own securities regulator reviewed 100,000 pages and found no securities violation. Paxton sued us anyway, and when that regulator publicly called Paxton’s claim “a wholly false statement,” he was pushed out of his job.”Read statement
CAIR-Texas says Paxton allegedly strong-armed an agency into targeting a Muslim community
Council on American-Islamic Relations
“Instead of serving all Texans, Mr. Paxton allegedly even strong-armed a governmental agency into targeting a Texas Muslim community, even after the agency concluded there was no basis for the line of attack Paxton wanted to pursue.”Read statement
EPIC says state officials were determined to prosecute it regardless of the evidence
East Plano Islamic Center
“determined to find a way to prosecute EPIC regardless of what the evidence showed.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Olmsted condemns the EPIC City case as a campaign against Muslims". First published: 2026-10-28. Last updated: 2026-10-28. https://disputeindex.com/events/7120-olmsted-argues-that-abbott-and-paxton-constructed-the