Francesca D'Annunzio

I’m a Trans Journalist Choosing to Live in Texas. Here’s Why That Matters. My name is Kit O’Connell. I’ll be covering queer and trans life in Texas for Big & Bright — The Barbed Wire’s first underwritten vertical.

I'm here, I'm queer, I belong in Texas, too.

thebarbedwire.com asked me to take a moment to introduce myself, and why our state needs reporters like me, and media where we can see our stories reflected.

This one starts when I'm just 13 years old...

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Officials Said They Busted a Tren de Aragua Party. Attendees Beg to Differ. A highly publicized multi-agency raid in Hays County resulted in dozens of arrests on low-level immigration charges and left an Austin mother's life in tatters. It also fit a pattern of unproven gang-...

If you'd like to read our original story, you can find it here:

www.texasobserver.org/officials-tr...

FWIW, this is what I requested from DPS:
- dash/bodycam from involved officers
- 911 audio
- photo/video taken on officers' phones the night of the raid
- DPS agents' emails sent the week of the op
- records re seized property, towed vehicles
- any additional police reports

None of it was released.

I emailed the FBI a list of questions but have not heard back yet.

I also thought the feds may have dropped the investigation, since they did not reply to the Hays County DA's office when it sought more records for the criminal charges.

Since all the criminal charges were dropped, I figured DPS would not be able to withhold records related to the raid by citing an impending prosecution or ongoing investigation.

Ranc said an investigator in his office asked ICE for evidence like video footage or incident reports but never got a reply. Ranc didn’t believe he could prosecute the drug charges and comply with Texas discovery laws. Both defendants have now been deported.

“I didn’t get any of what I thought should have been given to me by the feds,” Ranc said. “They never communicated with me. Nothing.”

Marc Ranc, a Hays County assistant criminal district attorney, told the Texas Observer he dropped the cases last month because ICE would not confirm whether or not they had additional evidence for the cases.

In October, the Hays DA has dropped both drug charges, citing a lack of cooperation from federal law enforcement.

The only state criminal charges to result from the raid, according to prosecutors at the Hays County District Attorney’s Office, were two felony drug possession cases against Venezuelan men who were stopped while driving near the Airbnb earlier in the evening.

ICE arrested 35 of the individuals on charges of attempted illegal entry, but federal court records suggest none of the charges were prosecuted—as arrestees were simply funneled into civil detention and in many cases deported.

The participating agencies—FBI, ICE, TX DPS, and the Hays County Sheriff’s Office—claimed they’d busted a gathering of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua but offered no substantiating evidence.

To jog your memory:

On 4/1, state + fed police raided a party at an Airbnb in a wealthy Austin suburb, arresting nearly 50 people incl nine children.

Prosecutors Drop Only Criminal Cases from Hays County Airbnb Raid Pending drug charges have been abandoned from the multi-agency April operation that supposedly targeted Tren de Aragua and led to multiple deportations.

UPDATE: I re-requested a bunch of records about the Hays County multi-agency raid, since the only criminal charges were dropped in October.

DPS declined to release more records, citing an ongoing FBI investigation.

www.texasobserver.org/prosecutors-...

Donate to Extend Patti's Joyful Life Amidst Cancer Fight, organized by Kaitlin Siebert On October 30th, 2025, my mom, Patti, was diagnosed with stage IV color… Kaitlin Siebert needs your support for Extend Patti's Joyful Life Amidst Cancer Fight

If you follow my work you know that I often ask my audience to support my journalism. This time, it's different. My fiancee's mother has been diagnosed with stage IV cancer. She's on fixed income and we had to relocate her to Dallas for care. She needs your help.

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A screenshot of the Dallas Police incident report

A screenshot of the FBI report

Last Thanksgiving, two Dallas Police officers knocked on my door, citing a tip from the FBI national threat operations center that I was beating my girlfriend. The incident report confirms this. Today, I obtained a file from the FBI via FOIA that states the FBI has no record of receiving such a tip.

CIA concludes Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination Audio recordings, intercepted phone calls and other intelligence link Mohammed bin Salman to killing that Saudis say was conducted by rogue elements.

A reminder that seven years ago almost to the day, the CIA determined that Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the killing of @washingtonpost.com journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...

Now back home, Castro Bravo hopes to open a barbershop again soon.

As for his time in Texas, he said, “I don’t want to remember this experience.”

When police arrested him in Hays County, he’d been saving up for a plane ticket to self-deport. He wanted to be home in time for the holidays; last winter, he was homeless and sleeping in his car in Austin-area HEB parking lots, and spent Christmas with people he barely knew.

State police cited the drugs found on Vizcaino González and Castro Bravo in the probable cause affidavit for the warrant to raid the Airbnb.

Castro Bravo told the Observer that he was deported back to Venezuela two weeks ago. His mom greeted him outside the family house in tears.

DPS accused him in an arrest report of TdA affiliation because of his tattoos, and he was arrested for drug possession. Castro Bravo was held in jail—mostly in west Texas—for six months before the felony ketamine case against him was dropped in Oct. He also denies any gang ties.

Castro Bravo, a 24-year-old barber from Caracas, told the Observer he was stopped while driving for DoorDash in the area and was unaware of the party (though police say he had left the party location). After he showed a Venezuelan passport, a DPS trooper called in ICE.

“We are hardworking people, nobody at the party was a criminal,” Vizcaino González told the Observer. “We were just immigrants trying to get ahead and celebrating a friend’s birthday.”

He was charged with ketamine possession but bonded out into ICE custody and, being a dual Venezuelan-Spanish citizen, was deported to Spain in May.

Vizcaino González was a passenger in a car stopped by DPS for ignoring a stop sign. ICE agents then arrived and found narcotics in his inner waistband.

The two men who faced the state drug charges were Antonio Vizcaino González and Jeankey Jhonayker Castro Bravo.

A Venezuelan Was Detained as a 'Documented' Gang Member by ICE, Which Refused to Provide Proof The Venezuelan immigrant, who has no criminal record, previously worked for a multinational corporation that sells snacks, food, and soft drinks.

Advocates say the Hays County raid is an example of police accusing Venezuelans, without evidence, of gang ties under the Trump administration.

(For another example, see this story about a construction worker: texasobserver.org/venezuelan-d...)

The agency said the raid was an “FBI-led operation” and referred the Observer’s questions to the FBI and DPS. DPS declined to comment; an FBI auto-reply indicated the agency would not respond until the federal shutdown ended.