Masked Protesters in Texas Target Hindu Community with Anti-Diwali and Anti-Immigrant Signs

A group of masked men affiliated with the far-right organization “Take Action Texas” staged what civil rights advocates are calling a hate-fueled protest in Irving on Thursday, displaying signs that denigrated Hindu deities, attacked Indian immigrants, and described the recently concluded Diwali festival as “garbage.” 

The incident, which occurred at multiple locations across Irving—a Dallas suburb with a significant Indian-American population—has triggered widespread condemnation from the Hindu community, civil rights organizations, and local officials who describe it as a blatant display of religious bigotry and xenophobia.

According to news reports, the masked protesters carried placards with messages including “Don’t India My Texas,” “Deport H-1B Scammers,” and “Reject Foreign Demons”—the latter phrase appearing alongside crossed-out images of Hindu deities Lord Vishnu and Lord Ganesh. Additional signs read “Jesus Christ is Lord.”

The group posted photographs of their demonstration on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, October 25, accompanied by what multiple news outlets described as a “highly offensive and hateful caption.”

It must be noted however that there were only a handful of these hateful protestors as evidenced in their own X posts.

“In response to all the recent ‘Diwali’ garbage, we hit a couple of different spots in Irving—a city that has been ravaged by H-1B scams and massive demographic shifts due to labor imports coming from India,” the Take Action Texas account wrote, according to HinduPost.

The organization’s social media presence indicates it focuses on what it characterizes as issues related to immigration enforcement, visa programs, and demographic changes in Texas cities.

Community Response: Outrage and Condemnation

M9 News, in its coverage of the incident, noted the broader context of community tensions: “The Indian, especially Telugu, community in Dallas has been making headlines for its overenthusiastic displays—from loud movie celebrations to lavish public events. Even recent Diwali festivities in the U.S. drew criticism for being over the top and disruptive.”

However, M9 News also acknowledged that “in a few shocking cases, Diwali firecrackers reportedly caused fires that damaged American homes,” while noting: “It’s time for the community to reflect. Indians in the U.S. cannot afford to repeat the same behavior they often get away with in India.”

The publication’s framing suggests a complex dynamic where legitimate concerns about community behavior exist alongside what many describe as hate speech and religious intolerance.

Irving: A Changing Demographic Landscape

Irving has become home to a significant Indian-American population, particularly professionals working in the technology sector on H-1B visas. The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex hosts one of the largest concentrations of Indian immigrants in the United States, with Irving emerging as a cultural hub featuring Indian restaurants, grocery stores, temples, and businesses.

This demographic shift has been a point of tension for some longtime residents, though city leaders have generally celebrated Irving’s diversity as an economic and cultural asset.

The Take Action Texas protest appears designed to capitalize on whatever tensions emerged from Diwali celebrations, using the festival as a vehicle to express broader opposition to Indian immigration and Hindu religious practice in Texas.

The protesters’ specific mention of “H-1B scams” and “labor imports” reflects broader political debates about employment-based immigration programs, particularly in the technology sector where Indian professionals constitute a significant portion of visa holders.

Post-Diwali Backlash

The protest occurred in the immediate aftermath of Diwali celebrations on October 20, 2025. As previously reported, Diwali observances across the United States this year generated both celebration and controversy, with some communities facing criticism over illegal fireworks, noise complaints, and debris left in public spaces.

In several Texas cities, including areas of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, some Diwali celebrations drew complaints from neighbors about noise, late-night festivities, and street closures. However, the vast majority of celebrations were peaceful, legal, and coordinated with local authorities.

The Take Action Texas protest appears designed to capitalize on whatever tensions emerged from Diwali celebrations, using the festival as a vehicle to express broader opposition to Indian immigration and Hindu religious practice in Texas.

The protesters’ specific targeting of Hindu deities—depicting Lords Vishnu and Ganesh with X marks and labeling them “foreign demons”—represents what religious freedom advocates describe as clear religious bigotry.

The juxtaposition of anti-Hindu imagery with Christian religious declarations (“Jesus Christ is Lord”) suggests the protest combined nativist anti-immigrant sentiment with religious supremacism.

Civil rights organizations have historically documented that Hindu Americans, along with Sikh Americans who are sometimes mistaken for Muslims, face religious discrimination and hate incidents at higher rates than many other religious minorities in the United States.

Legal and Political Context

The protest occurred in a state where Governor Greg Abbott has actively courted Indian-American voters and celebrated Diwali at the Governor’s Mansion. Just days before the Irving protest, Abbott hosted his annual Diwali celebration, praising the Indian-American community’s contributions to Texas’s economy and culture.

This contradiction highlights the complex political landscape in Texas, where state leadership has embraced cultural diversity and Indian economic contributions while some grassroots conservative movements express hostility toward the same communities.

Texas law does permit masked protests under certain circumstances, though legislation introduced in 2025 sought to increase penalties for masked protesters engaged in activities deemed “riots” under the state’s broad definition. The status of that legislation and whether it applies to this incident remains unclear.

Broader National Context

The Irving incident is not isolated. Across the United States, Indian-American communities have reported increasing incidents of discrimination, harassment, and vandalism targeting Hindu temples and cultural centers.

The protest also comes amid heightened political rhetoric about H-1B visas and employment-based immigration, with some politicians and advocacy groups arguing that the program displaces American workers while others maintain it’s essential for economic competitiveness.

However, the Irving protest went beyond policy criticism to attack religious beliefs and practices—a line that civil rights advocates say crosses from political speech into hate speech targeting a religious minority.

No Official Response Yet

As of Saturday evening, neither the City of Irving nor local law enforcement had issued public statements about the protest. It remains unclear whether the demonstration violated any local ordinances or whether authorities are investigating the incident as potential hate speech or intimidation.

The Irving Police Department and City Council did not immediately respond to requests for comment from news organizations covering the incident.

A Community on Edge

For Irving’s Indian-American residents, the protest represents a jarring reminder that acceptance is not universal, even in a diverse metropolitan area where their community has established deep roots.

The incident raises difficult questions about the boundaries between political protest and religious hatred, between criticism of community behavior and attacks on religious identity, and between free speech rights and protection from targeted harassment.

As news of the protest spreads through Indian-American social media networks and community groups, many are grappling with how to respond—whether to ignore what they hope is a fringe group seeking attention, to speak out forcefully against what they see as hate speech, or to engage in self-reflection about community behavior that may have contributed to tensions.

What’s clear is that the masked protesters in Irving succeeded in sparking exactly the kind of controversy and division they apparently sought—leaving a community that was celebrating the triumph of light over darkness just days ago now confronting a darker reality about prejudice and intolerance in their adopted home.

This story was aggregated by AI from several news reports and edited by American Kahani’s News Desk.