![Texas butterfly sanctuary shuts citing threats from Trump supporters](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/2b/bf/a3/Texas-butterfly-sanctuary-shuts-cit-180856.jpg)
-
US defends law forcing sale of TikTok app
-
Messi out for defending champ Miami as Leagues Cup begins
-
Australia bans uranium mining at Indigenous site
-
Divers attempt to reach sunken Philippine oil tanker
-
Trump accuses Harris of anti-Semitism in overblown speech
-
Coughlin clings to lead at LPGA Canadian Women's Open
-
Trump offers tech sector policy flips ahead of election
-
Spacecraft to swing by Earth, Moon on path to Jupiter
-
What's the fallout of Mexican drug lords' capture?
-
Video game makers see actors as AI 'data,' says union on strike
-
Chinese qualifier Shang to face Thompson in ATP Atlanta semis
-
'Massive attack' on French rail threatens more chaos
-
'We did it!': France breathes sigh of relief after Olympics ceremony
-
Regional concern grows as Venezuela blocks vote observers
-
Historic river parade, Dion show-stopper ignite Paris Olympics
-
Rainy Paris Olympic parade dampens many spectators' spirits
-
The one of a kind Paris opening ceremony: five memorable moments
-
Justin Timberlake seeks to dismiss DUI case
-
Warner Brothers Discovery sues NBA over Amazon rights deal
-
Kobe Bryant locker, Maradona jersey up for auction in New York
-
Historic river parade launches Paris Olympics
-
New York family of Holocaust victim reclaims Nazi-looted art
-
NASA Mars rover captures rock that could hold fossilized microbes
-
Thousands evacuate season's biggest wildfire in northern California
-
Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
-
Lady Gaga adds sparkle to star-studded Olympic show
-
Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
-
Teams sail down Seine in rain-soaked Olympics opening ceremony
-
West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
-
Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
-
Mott's England future uncertain as ECB chief fails to offer support
-
Trump meets Israeli PM Netanyahu in Florida
-
S.African police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp
-
Blinken set for talks with Chinese counterpart in Laos
-
Norris heads Piastri in McLaren one-two at Belgian GP practice
-
G20 seeks common ground on taxing super-rich
-
European medicines watchdog rejects new Alzheimer's drug
-
Habib, Ebden eye Alcaraz and Djokovic shocks at Olympics tennis
-
Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
-
Two Sinaloa Cartel leaders face US charges after stunning capture
-
Spain train driver jailed for 2.5 years over deadly 2013 crash
-
Paris poised for Olympic opening ceremony spectacular
-
Judoka fails doping test in first case at Paris Olympics
-
Holder and Da Silva keep England at bay after West Indies collapse
-
Alpine F1 boss Bruno Famin to leave in August
-
Ethiopia declares three days of mourning after landslide tragedy
-
Brazilian dunes dotted with dazzling pools make UNESCO heritage list
-
Rain, cooling slow huge blaze in Canada's Jasper park
-
French Rugby's Jaminet suspended 34 weeks after racist video: Federation
-
Osaka looking to turbo-charge comeback at Paris Olympics
![Texas butterfly sanctuary shuts citing threats from Trump supporters](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/2b/bf/a3/Texas-butterfly-sanctuary-shuts-cit-180856.jpg)
Texas butterfly sanctuary shuts citing threats from Trump supporters
A butterfly sanctuary caught in the crossfire of polarizing conspiracy theories on illegal immigration to the United States said it will shut its doors Thursday, citing security concerns after receiving threats from supporters of former president Donald Trump.
The National Butterfly Center in Texas, located on the banks of the Rio Grande that separates the United States from Mexico, had filed a complaint to block construction of the border wall that became a centerpiece of Trump's presidency, saying it threatened the winged insects' habitat.
The private sanctuary's gardens are home to more than 200 species of butterfly as well as bobcats, coyotes, peccaries, armadillos and Texas tortoises.
But it will now be closed until further notice because "the safety of our staff and visitors is our primary concern," Jeffrey Glassberg, president of the North American Butterfly Association, which runs the organization, said in a statement Wednesday.
Conspiracy theories targeting the sanctuary -- which have been linked to far-right group QAnon by US media -- have claimed it was helping to bring illegal migrants to America.
The facility already closed between January 28 and 30 because of "credible threats" related to an event held by supporters of the former president in nearby McAllen, Glassberg said.
Photos purporting to be from the center had been circulating along with messages accusing the organization of helping smugglers bring migrants to the United States.
Several right-wing activists have posted videos on social media of themselves in front of the sanctuary.
"We don't think the threat has passed," the sanctuary's executive director Marianna Trevino Wright told AFP on Wednesday, citing repeated "provocations" from these individuals.
Wright said she feared the allegations against the center would eventually push someone to "take action."
"We look forward to reopening, soon, when the authorities and the professionals who are helping us get past this situation give us the green light," Glassberg said in the statement, noting that employees would continue to receive their salaries during the closure.
The QAnon far-right conspiracy movement began in 2017 with claims that the Democrats ran a satanic child-kidnapping sex-trafficking ring, and it has been blamed for fuelling a riot at the US Capitol on January 6 last year.
Trump has never condemned the movement and even fed QAnon fever before the US presidential election in 2020, floating his own conspiracy theories about a planeload of black-clad saboteurs disrupting his party convention.
A.Motta--PC