A lawyer representing President Donald Trump last month sent a cease-and-desist letter instructing Brandon Herrera, a Republican candidate in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, to stop using the president’s image and likeness in campaign materials.
The letter, which was obtained by The Texas Tribune, was sent Jan. 27 to Herrera and his joint fundraising committee by Jesse Franklin-Murdock, a California lawyer at the Dhillon Law Group, a firm which has often represented Trump in legal matters. Franklin-Murdock, identifying himself as a representative of the president and Never Surrender, Inc., Trump’s leadership PAC, accuses Herrera of sending a deceptive mailer with Trump’s image on it.
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Trump has endorsed Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, in the uber-competitive Republican primary for the district. The mailer, according to the cease-and-desist letter, creates a false impression of Trump’s position in the race by depicting Herrera and Trump in side-by-side images that are edited to appear as if the two are posing together. It was sent out by the Brandon Herrera Victory Committee, a joint fundraising committee between Herrera’s campaign and his leadership PAC.
“The mailer described above is inconsistent with President Trump’s unequivocal endorsement of Congressman Gonzalez [sic], and it is likely to confuse voters with respect to President Trump’s preferred candidate in the primary election,” the letter says. “In short, the Committee’s mailer uses President Trump’s image and likeness in a deceptive manner that is contrary to President Trump’s stated position regarding the primary election.”
While Trump frequently weighs in on primaries in Texas via endorsements, the cease-and-desist letter represents a rare — though not unprecedented — legal action against a Republican candidate.
Herrera, a gun rights activist and YouTuber, challenged Gonzales in 2024. The contest went to a runoff, where Gonzales bested Herrera by under 400 votes in one of the closest primary races in the country. In August, Herrera launched his second attempt to oust Gonzales.
In a statement, Herrera’s campaign manager blasted Gonzales for voting to create the House’s Jan. 6 Commission and hosting then-presidential candidate Nikki Haley in his district, but did not address the cease-and-desist letter.
“There’s only one candidate in this race who has supported President Trump from the beginning, and that’s Brandon Herrera,” Kimmie Gonzalez, Herrera’s campaign manager, said.
The district, which contains a slice of San Antonio and runs along the border in West and South Texas, is the largest by land area in the state. Trump endorsed Gonzales, a Navy veteran who has represented the district since 2021, in December, calling him a “terrific Representative.”
The cease-and-desist letter says the mailer, entitled “Brandon Herrera’s Town Hall Schedule” contains images of Herrera and Trump against a mountainous backdrop in its left third.
Franklin-Murdock tells Herrera to cease misusing Trump’s image and likeness immediately, and warns that continuing to do so could invite legal consequences.
In a statement, Franklin-Murdock said he would “use every lawful means to protect his supporters from attempts by Herrera and others to deceive them.”
The Trump campaign has used cease-and-desist letters before to go after opponents or groups out of the president’s favor. His campaign ordered the Loudoun County GOP in Virginia to stop selling merchandise depicting Trump after his 2024 assasination attempt and took issue with former Rep. Bob Good for using the president’s name on yard signs after Trump had endorsed against him. In 2021, shortly after leaving office, his attorneys asked three Republican organizations to stop using his name and likeness on their merchandise and in fundraising appeals.
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