Grapevine police gift from Christian Patriot Mobile conservatives sparks backlash

The short Facebook post seemed harmless.

Grapevine Police Department thanked the local company for giving their employees a pizza party, adding that it was “a blessing to have their support and encouragement.”

But the gift, made by Christian conservative mobile phone company Patriot Mobile, caused an uproar on social media, where people urged the department to return it.

On Saturday, Grapevine police said they would not accept a Cane Rosso gift certificate and would instead donate it to an organization in need. The amount of the certificate was not immediately clear.

“We don’t question the donor’s beliefs, we just express our gratitude,” The department wrote in a follow-up post. “However, in this case, the donation triggered deep emotions.”

Patriot Mobile, which describes itself as “America’s only Christian conservative wireless provider,” has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars promoting like-minded candidates in recent Tarrant County School Board races.

Last spring, the company’s political action committee sent thousands of political mailings an accusation of current school board members of endangering students with critical race theory and other “awakened” ideas about gender and race.

All 11 candidates backed Patriot Mobile won their races in four school districts: Grapevine-Collyville, Southlake, Keller and Mansfield.

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