A Houston protest, organized by Russian trolls

On a sunny Saturday in May 2016, I was assigned to cover a protest outside the Islamic Da'wah Center in downtown Houston. A group that called itself the "Heart of Texas" had organized it on social media - a protest, they said, against the "Islamization" of Texas. On one side of Travis Street, I found about 10 protesters. On the other side, I found around 50 counterprotesters. But I couldn't find the rally organizers. No "Heart of Texas." I thought that was odd, and mentioned it in the article: What kind of group is a no-show at its own event? Now I know why. Apparently, the rally's organizers were in Saint Petersburg, Russia, at the time. "Heart of Texas" is one of the internet troll groups cited in Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller's recent indictment of Russians attempting to tamper with the U.S. presidential election. SOME OF THE protesters' T-shirts promoted "White Power." Others made pro-Confederacy statements. They waved flags representing the U.S., Texas and the Confederate South, and they carried a "White Lives Matter" banner. When I asked the protesters how they learned of the rally, they showed me the "Heart of Texas" Facebook page. The post encouraged them to bring their firearms to the rally. I saw one with an AR-15 rifle hanging from his shoulder strap. A group called "Save Islamic Knowledge" had set up the much larger counterprotest. We now know that it, too, had also sprung from the mind of computer operators working inside the troll farm, a nondescript four-story building at 55 Savushinka Street in Saint Petersburg. But at the protest, I didn't know that. I sent messages to both "Heart of Texas" and "Save Islamic Knowledge." Neither group called me back. I managed to talk with Faisal Shah, a lawyer representing the Islamic center, who told me the center had no part in the counterprotest. For his group to take part, he said, would just have given the protesters what they wanted - a bigger audience and bigger platform. SEPARATED BY TRAVIS Street and the Houston police, the two groups shouted at each each other. The pro-Islamic Center counterprotesters had a loudspeaker, and so were able drown out the other side. And then there was the "Bubble Man." He stood on a balcony overlooking the scene, armed with a fully-charged bubble machine. It sent hundreds of shimmering soap bubbles onto the annoyed anti-Islamic protesters below. I wanted to interview him, but he waved me off. Because his soapy attack was aimed at the protesters, in my article, I described him as part of the counterprotest. But now, with these indictments from the special prosecutor, I'm not so sure. Were Russian trolls behind the bubbles too?

A Houston protest, organized by Russian trolls

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