Texas: A candidate Maga burns a Koran and promises to “end Islam

Valentina Gomez, a republican candidate in the 2026 elections in the 31ᵉ District of Texas, triggered a wave of indignation after broadcasting a video where it is a coordinating a copy of the Koran using a flame launcher. In a video published on X, she swears to “end Islam” in Texas, where the Muslim community represents around 1 % of the population. The Maga Movement (Make America Great Again) comes from Donald Trump’s campaign in 2016 and today designates a radical wing of the Republican Party. Hostile to immigration, minorities and the rights of LGBT+people, it is characterized by an identity and nationalist discourse, mixing religion and politics.

Known for its extreme provocations and hateful remarks targeting Muslims, LGBT+people, blacks and migrants, Gomez is not at its test. Last December, she staged a dummy execution of an immigrant. Born in Colombia, she also called on African-Americans to “leave” the United States if they did not like the country, and had already distinguished herself by burning LGBTQ+books. The last video sparked an avalanche of convictions. “It is not politics, it is incentive to hatred,” reacted a commentator on X. Others denounced a desperate maneuver of a candidate in search of notoriety, ready to do anything to exist politically.

Gomez’s strategy is a disturbing trend: transforming symbolic violence – burn a Koran, simulate an execution – into an electoral tool. In a polarized political climate, these spectacular staging seek less to convince than to galvanize a militant base in search of an identity confrontation. But by dint of repelling the limits of provocation, this type of rhetoric is above all likely to fuel a climate of hatred and legitimize violence against minorities.