Republic of Texas (group)

The Republic of Texas is a general term for several organizations, some of which have been called militia groups, that claim the annexation of Texas by the United States was illegal and that Texas remains an independent nation to this day, but is under occupation. The issue of the legal status of Texas led the group to claim to have reinstated a provisional government on December 13, 1995. Activists within the movement claim over 40,000 active supporters, and public opinion polls have shown significant support for the secession of Texas or other states. A September 2014 Reuters/Ipsos poll found over 34% of people in southwestern states favored their own state seceding from the United States. So far, however, supporters have not managed to turn these public sentiments into concrete moves toward an independent Texas.

The movement for independence was started by Richard Lance "Rick" McLaren (born c. 1953). McLaren noted that, in 1861, Texans voted four-to-one to leave the Union, and upon further research concluded that Texas still met the qualifications, under international law, of a captive nation of war since the end of the American Civil War in 1865.

The movement split into three factions in 1996, one led by McLaren, one by David Johnson and Jesse Enloe, and the third by Archie Lowe and Daniel Miller. In 1997, McLaren and his followers kidnapped Joe and Margaret Ann Rowe, held them hostage at the Davis Mountain Resort, and demanded the release of a movement member in exchange for the release of the Rowes. McLaren's wife, Evelyn, convinced him to surrender peacefully after a week-long standoff with police and Texas Rangers. McLaren and four other Republic of Texas members were sent to prison. Two other members of the group, Richard F. Keyes III and Mike Matson managed to slip away. Matson was shot dead by Texas Rangers two days later, while Keyes surrendered to the authorities on September 19. In June 1998, Keyes was convicted of burglary with intent to commit aggravated assault and sentenced to 90 years in prison. This effectively destroyed the McLaren faction, and the Johnson-Enloe faction was discredited after two of its members, Jack Abbot Grebe Jr. and Johnie Wise, were convicted in 1998 of threatening to assassinate several government officials, including President Bill Clinton.

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