Texas Observer exposes Monty Bennett

Take some time today to read an important story in the Texas Observer from local journalist Steven Monacelli. It’s titled “The Billionaire Behind the Attempt to Break Dallas City Government.” The billionaire in question (although I doubt he is actually a billionaire) is Monty Bennett. You know the name because I wrote about him on this blog, reporting on his crazy January 6th conspiracy theory and his giant collar gap. Bennett is the main supporter (if not the only one) of Dallas HERO, the club that received S, T and U awards when you voted in November. Everyone in Dallas is against the proposals. Bennett, who lives in Highland Park, is for them.

Here’s Councilwoman Paula Blackmon in the Observer article: “If it passes, [the three propositions] would deprive Dallas of its ability to govern itself by subjecting city decisions to the threat of litigation [and] to outside pressure from wealthy interests like Monty Bennett, who live outside city limits and enjoy disrupting local government with lawsuits that have cost taxpayers millions of dollars.”

Bennett controls the online news site Dallas Express, which is registered as a nonprofit organization. The Observer article raises serious questions about how he is using the outlet to advance his own interests, questions that the IRS and SEC may be interested in answering. The Texas House of Representatives considers the Dallas Express so suspicious that it denied the organization press accreditation. One expert says in the Observer story: “The charity is not really acting as a charity but as an advocate.”…I would recommend that the charity be closed down.”

The Observer story also reveals that Bennett hired actors to protest outside through a company called Crowds on Demand D MagazineI insulted myself in the office and called myself a racist – this protest was only covered by the Dallas Express.

As I said, take the time to read this story from the Texas Observer. It’s long. It’s complicated. It is important.