Governor’s Texas Safety Commission will develop plan to ‘combat the rise of extremist groups and hateful ideologies’

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) –  Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has announced the Texas Safety Commission will develop an immediate action plan to “combat the rise of extremist groups and hateful ideologies.” The panel, which will meet later this week at the Texas Capitol, also will discuss how to fight domestic terrorism, including cybersecurity threats.

“The Texas Safety Commission will bring together experts and community leaders to develop an action plan to combat threats of domestic terrorism, root out extremist ideologies and address the link between mental health challenges and gun violence in our communities,” said Abbott.

The governor has formed the commission following the mass shooting that left 22 people dead at a Walmart store in  El Paso.  The shooter has reportedly confessed to targeting Mexicans.

The commission also will be tasked with developing legislative solutions to prevent mass shootings and domestic terror attacks, and talk about keeping guns “out of the hands of deranged individuals.”

The first meeting will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, August 22, at the Texas Capitol in Austin. Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, House Speaker Dennis Bonnen and legislators from the El Paso area are scheduled to be there. Officials with DPS and the FBI also will be there, in addition to representatives from Homeland Security and Secret Service.

The second meeting will be August 29th in El Paso.