A Democratic congressional candidate in San Antonio wants to turn an ICE detention center into a prison for "American Zionists," and she has a runoff election in one week. Maureen Galindo, running to represent Texas' newly redrawn 35th Congressional District, is facing a cascade of condemnation after a series of social media posts in which she called for Zionists to be imprisoned, accused Jewish "Zionists" of controlling politicians and the media, and declared that her runoff opponent should be tried for treason.
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The controversy escalated on Tuesday, May 19, after Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin highlighted one of Galindo's Instagram posts, which said she would turn the Karnes ICE Detention Center near San Antonio into "a prison for American Zionists" and a "castration processing center for pedophiles," adding that "most of the Zionists" would fit that category. Melugin's post, timestamped 5:42 p.m., had garnered more than 181,000 views by Tuesday evening. "Yes, it's real, and yes the post is still up," Melugin wrote. "She has a runoff election next week."
Maureen Galindo, a Democrat running for Congress in TX-35, says in an Instagram post that she would turn an ICE detention center near San Antonio “into a prison for American Zionists”, and will also use it as a castration processing center for pedophiles, “which will probably be… pic.twitter.com/d5Xmb2uk9n
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) May 19, 2026
The San Antonio Current reported that Galindo posted over the weekend, writing in the third person:
"When Maureen gets into Congress, she'll write legislation so that all Zionism and support of Zionism is undoubtedly Anti-Semitic, since it's Zionists harming the Semites. She'll turn Karnes ICE Detention Center into a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking. It will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles, which will probably be most of the Zionists."
The Instagram posts circulating online go beyond the detention-center remarks, and Galindo's attacks on her May 26 runoff opponent, Johnny Garcia, are a recurring thread throughout. One post shared by Galindo, captioned with a call to "FREE PALESTINE & STOP THE AI SURVEILLANCE PRISON STATE FROM TAKING OVER AMERICA," declared that politicians who "received money from Israel" should be "tried for treason against the American people." The graphic accompanying the post read in bold: "JOHNNY GARCIA AND ALL AMERICAN CANDIDATES & ELECTED OFFICIALS WHO TOOK MONEY FROM ISRAEL WILL BE TRIED FOR TREASON." The post, which used hashtags including #FREEPALESTINE, #ABOLISHICE, and #CONSTITUTION, received 438 likes.
Another post targeted Garcia directly, showing him in his police uniform in front of Israeli and American flags with text overlaid calling him "the Bexar County cop who took money from Israel to get into Congress & fund Israeli wars." An accompanying caption questioned whether local Democrats want Garcia representing them, claiming "80% of Democrats want to cut ties with Israel." The post also embedded an unverified statistic — sourced from another account — claiming Israel "killed more than 25,000 children in 948 days."
The San Antonio Current further reported that Galindo accused Garcia of participating in "a human trafficking conspiracy orchestrated by billionaire zionist Jews" and pledged during a Texas Public Radio interview to put him "on trial for treason." Garcia, a former Bexar County Public Information Officer, did not respond to a request for comment.
Galindo has also used her account to share outside content, including a reel promoting criticism of AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group. According to The Current, her posts have more broadly pushed claims that "a cabal of Jewish zionists controls Hollywood, the media and even local politicians."
Despite the backlash, Galindo has repeatedly insisted she is criticizing "zionists," not Jewish people generally.
“I think it’s actually the zionists who are putting Jewish people at the most risk,” Galindo told the Current.
That defense has done little to calm criticism from Jewish organizations and members of her own party.
The San Antonio Jewish Federation condemned what it described as “antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories in public discourse.”
“Divisive and hateful rhetoric targeting the Jewish community has no place in our civic life.”
The political fallout has accelerated in recent days. Former Democratic primary opponent John Lira rescinded his endorsement of Galindo, while Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico told reporters he would not campaign alongside her even if she wins the runoff.
“This antisemitic rhetoric has no place in our politics,” Talarico said. “We need leadership in both parties willing to stand up and call out hate where it rears its ugly head.”
Early voting is already underway. The May 26 runoff is seven days away. And Maureen Galindo's campaign has become something almost without precedent in a modern Democratic primary. A candidate doubling down on calls to imprison an ethnic group, accusing her opponent of treason, and dismissing the fallout as a misunderstanding. Whether voters in TX-35 reward that or reject it, the national spotlight isn't going anywhere.
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