The Republican nominee for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission repeatedly called for executing his political enemies, including former President Barack Obama, in social media posts that have since been removed, according to a new investigation.
CNN’s KFile found that GOP candidate Bo French called for the death penalty for people he labeled “Obama conspirators” and repeatedly used the hashtag #HangEmHigh in May 2020, as Trump’s Justice Department moved to drop its case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
“The penalty for treason used to be death. Even for a former president. #HangEmHigh,” French wrote in reply to a post that appeared to blame Obama for the Russia investigation.
French was already under fire from members of both parties over a recent post portraying South Asian students at a University of Texas football game as “foreigners” displacing Americans, with veteran GOP strategist Karl Rove saying he would back the Democrat in the race and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) declaring he would not vote for French.
Responding to a question about whether then-Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) had been arrested, French wrote, “It’s time we drop the hammer on these treasonous b—–ds and punish them with the full measure of justice. #HangEmHigh.”
The rhetoric continued as recently as February 2025, when French chaired the Tarrant County Republican Party. Cheering on Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, he suggested DOGE should stand for “Dangle Officials Gallows Expeditiously.”
“I want more than perp walks. I want public executions,” he wrote.
When another user posted about wanting to see Schiff, a Democratic U.S. senator, in prison, French made clear that wasn’t enough.
“No. I want to see public executions for traitors,” he wrote.
It’s unclear whether French deleted the posts himself or if they were removed for violating the platform’s rules. CNN confirmed the posts came from an earlier version of French’s current X account.
French did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment, but he has previously dismissed his critics as “less conservative.”
Despite the uproar, Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, the GOP’s Senate nominee, have kept their endorsements for French.
Paxton said he condemns “racism in all its forms” but did not name French. Neither man responded to CNN’s questions about the execution posts.
French faces Democratic state Rep. Jon Rosenthal in November for a six-year term on the commission, which oversees the state’s oil and gas industry.
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