MENTONE, TX – The State of Texas has obtained a temporary restraining order against Malcolm Terrall Tanner, halting what officials describe as an unlawful scheme to populate a remote West Texas county with new residents in an effort to influence local elections.
According to the Office of the Attorney General, Tanner, a resident of Crawfordsville, Indiana, used social media videos to recruit individuals, promising free homes on his land in Loving County in exchange for political support. The land, however, lacks housing, utilities, or basic sanitation infrastructure. Recruits, including women and children, were allegedly encouraged to live on the site in RVs or makeshift shelters without proper sewage disposal.
Attorney General Ken Paxton, who filed suit following an investigation, announced that a district court granted the restraining order to immediately stop Tanner’s activities. The court found that Tanner’s actions created a threat to public health by allowing the discharge of sewage on the property located at 2985 Private Road 3008, parcels 108451 and 108463.
The restraining order prohibits Tanner and those acting with him from discharging sewage or allowing any individuals to move onto, reside on, or establish habitation at the site. The court set a hearing for October 31, 2025, to determine whether the restraining order should be extended or converted into a temporary injunction.
Attorney General Paxton said in a statement, “The show is over. A court has ordered that this illegal and deceptive political sham must come to an immediate end. 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.”
The temporary order was issued without prior notice to the defendant due to the court’s finding that the alleged conduct posed an immediate threat to public health. The order remains in effect until further court action.
