Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker decries Neo-Nazis who ate at Torchy’s, spread fliers

Nicole Lopez
·2 min read
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Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker is condemning the people who were seen Sunday in the city wearing Nazi clothing and symbols.

Speaking at previously scheduled community vigil Tuesday evening about the Hamas attacks on Israel, Parker addressed the Nazi incidents first reported Tuesday morning by the Star-Telegram.

A group wearing swastikas and other hate symbols ate at a Torchy’s Tacos in Fort Worth’s Medical District on Sunday afternoon. A customer eating at the restaurant posted video of the group on TikTok. Also Sunday, about six people wearing Nazi garb distributed about 250 anti-Semitic fliers in Fort Worth Botanical Garden’s parking lot.

“That type of hate was rejected here in Texas,” Parker told a crowd at the vigil, held at Beth-El Congregation. “Individuals walking through our restaurants in Fort Worth, openly wearing Nazi swastikas on their arm and passing out propaganda onto cars at the Botanic Garden just this past Sunday. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.”

Parker said Fort Worth should not, and does not, tolerate that behavior.

On Israel and the local Jewish community, Parker said: “Tonight we stand with the people of Israel during these unthinkable and horrific times and our hearts are broken. We are praying for the end of the tragic violence that we are seeing displayed in Israel, praying for the families involved, the mothers and fathers, and grandparents, and children, infants who wait to hear if their family members are OK.”

Texas Rep. Craig Goldman of Fort Worth also weighed in on the Nazi-clad groups.

“When we see the neo-Nazis in a restaurant wearing a badge with the swastika on it, we need to call that out. We need to speak up. And we need to educate,” Goldman said.

District 97 Rep. Craig Goldman addresses the congregation during a vigil for Israel at Beth-El Congregation in Fort Worth, Texas, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. City and faith leaders spoke to a full house for support of Israel.
District 97 Rep. Craig Goldman addresses the congregation during a vigil for Israel at Beth-El Congregation in Fort Worth, Texas, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. City and faith leaders spoke to a full house for support of Israel.

Torchy’s Taco’s and the Botanic Garden’s CEO both issued statements to the Star-Telegram on Tuesday, saying that they do not tolerate hateful behavior and that the group is not welcome at either business.

MORE: Here’s what else happened at Tuesday’s vigil: ‘We stand with Israel’

RELATED: Far-right Texas group can’t sink much lower than spending a day with a hatemonger