Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), twin brother of Democrat presidential candidate Julián Castro, took to Twitter Monday and posted the names and employers of dozens of individuals – residing in his own San Antonio district – who contributed the maximum amount to President Trump’s re-election campaign.
Castro, who serves as the chair of his brother’s presidential campaign, allegedly posted the names of 44 San Antonio residents who donated the maximum amount to Trump’s re-election campaign in what appears to be an attempt to shame them.
“Sad to see so many San Antonians as 2019 maximum donors to Donald Trump,” Castro wrote in a tweet posted to his unverified campaign account, before listing the names of some of the specific donors and accusing them of “fueling a campaign of hate that labels Hispanic immigrants as ‘invaders.'”
Breitbart News reached out to Joaquin Castro’s team to confirm that the unverified campaign account is, in fact, operated by the congressman but did not receive a comment. However, Breitbart News can conclude that it is his campaign’s account, as it was listed in an archived version of his congressional campaign page.
Additionally, Julián Castro’s national press secretary, Sawyer Hackett, responded to criticism of the tweet and defended its sentiments, reaffirming that the account is indeed connected to Rep. Castro:
Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh responded to Castro’s tweet, calling on him to delete it and apologize. He also urged his brother’s campaign to “disavow” Joaquin’s controversial move:
“Democrats want to talk about inciting violence? This naming of private citizens and their employers is reckless and irresponsible,” Murtaugh told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “He is endangering the safety of people he is supposed to be representing.”
“Hey, media, do you think this is okay?” Murtaugh asked in a tweet.
“At the very least @Castro4Congress is inviting harassment of these private citizens,” he continued. “At worst, he’s encouraging violence. Will media concerned about “rhetoric” care about this? He’s listing people and their employers.”
“This is a target list,” he added:
Castro was still defending the tweet as of 6:00 p.m. ET:
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