By the early 1940s, the state began to encourage- then it required- citizens to spy on and report their neighbors. Shortly after Paxton’s legal stunt, Texas State Bar officials urged regulators to discipline him for other serious ethical misconduct. His lawsuit was rejected—alas, Texas can’t control other states —but Paxton’s singular drive to impose his Christo-fascism on the nation remains. Siccing vigilante Texans on other Texans isn’t limited to hunting parents of trans youth either. Using the power of the state to turn citizens against each other, encouraging, rewarding, and requiring vigilantism, is sinister.