The Texas Republican Party website Texasgop.org was shut down over the weekend by anonymous activists protesting Texas’ Heartbeat Act, according to a statement on the site.
Prior to the site being shut down, hackers put the words “Planned Parenthood” at the top of the website’s homepage among other pointed statements in an attempt to insult the organization and Texas GOP politicians. One of them said: “Ted Cruz is the Zodiac killer,” The Dallas Morning News reports.
The Heartbeat Act, supported overwhelmingly by Republican lawmakers, allows citizens to sue anyone who “aids or abets” an abortion after fetal cardiac activity is detected. That can occur at around six weeks into a pregnancy, before many women know they are pregnant.
After the law, also known as SB 8, went into effect on Sept. 1, Texas Right to Life created an anonymous abortion reporting system. The site prolifewhistleblower.com was removed by website hosts due to social pressure online. The site is still not up, Texas Right to Life has not revealed when it will be relaunched.
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Most of the text on the hacked Texas GOP site used profanities. The hackers also put a link to join Anonymous Operation Jane, a pro-abortion group that has vowed to hack any pro-life group that promotes a reporting system for abortion.
But the site is back up. The Texas GOP put out a statement on its relaunched website saying that it plans to increase “online security and advocacy efforts in support of the Heartbeat Act.”
“Pro-abortion hackers changed our web page for a short time before we took it down. We will be increasing security and appreciate the hackers providing us with a fundraising opportunity — funds we will use to promote even more robust Pro-Life legislation in Texas,” Texas GOP Chairman Matt Rinaldi said in a statement.
The GOP hack follows a cyber attack on Texas Right to Life, where 300 résumés were extracted from the site and shared online the weekend following the enactment of SB 8.
