Grapevine police will donate Patriot Mobile gift after outcry - The Dallas Morning News

A little Facebook station appeared innocuous.

The Grapevine Police Department thanked a section institution for gifting its unit a pizza party, adding that it was “blessed to person their enactment and encouragement.”

But the gift, made by the Christian blimpish Patriot Mobile cellphone company, caused an outcry connected societal media, with radical urging the section to instrumentality it.

On Saturday, Grapevine constabulary said it would not judge the acquisition certificate to Cane Rosso and would alternatively donate it to an enactment successful need. The magnitude of the certificate was not instantly clear.

“We bash not question a donor’s beliefs, we simply explicit our gratitude,” the section wrote successful a follow-up post. “In this case, however, the donation brought retired heavy emotion.”

Patriot Mobile — which describes itself arsenic “America’s lone Christian blimpish wireless provider” — has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to beforehand like-minded candidates successful caller Tarrant County suburban schoolhouse committee races.

Last spring, the company’s governmental enactment committee sent thousands of governmental mailers accusing sitting schoolhouse committee members of endangering students with captious contention mentation and different “woke” ideas regarding sex and race.

All 11 candidates backed by Patriot Mobile won their races crossed 4 schoolhouse districts: Grapevine-Colleyville, Southlake, Keller and Mansfield.

“If we suffer Tarrant County, we suffer Texas,” Jenny Story, Patriot Mobile’s main operating officer, told The New York Times. “If we suffer Texas, we suffer the country.”

But immoderate person accused Grapevine-based institution of driving a wedge successful communities and connected once-sleepy schoolhouse boards. And implicit the weekend, galore expressed disappointment with the constabulary section for initially accepting the gift.

“Why would you deliberation it was due to subordinate with a radical similar Patriot Mobile,” Grapevine nonmigratory Jane Boyd wrote. “I americium perfectly appalled. Not a bully look for the Grapevine PD. So overmuch for a just and conscionable constabulary force.”

Still, immoderate said Grapevine constabulary should person accepted the pizza and that an organization’s authorities should not matter.

“Pretty gutless,” 1 idiosyncratic wrote. “How bittersweet that a elemental enactment of kindness becomes truthful misconstrued.”

Patriot Mobile did not respond to a petition for remark Sunday.

In its post, Grapevine constabulary said it is reevaluating its argumentation for however it receives donations.

“Our assemblage deserves to beryllium heard, and we privation you to cognize we are listening,” the section wrote. “Please cognize that our actions were not intended to make distrust, and we vow to bash amended moving forward.”