Texas family stages Halloween display with hanging effigies of Trump supporters

A Halloween display in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood of Houston has gone viral for featuring mannequins wearing red MAGA-style hats hanging from a wooden gallows.

The display was set up in the city’s Second Ward near downtown and shows two figures in red hats, black shirts, khaki pants, and black masks, with zip ties in their pockets, hanging by the neck. A mannequin wearing a poncho stands nearby next to a Mexican flag, while another figure lies on the ground bound with restraints. Two coffins sit alongside the gallows.

The mannequins appear to resemble immigration agents, who often wear masks to shield their identities and carry zip ties to detain illegal immigrants. Video of the display, posted by FNTV, spread widely online and drew visitors to the neighborhood to see it in person.

The homeowner of the display, Mark Rodriguez, said that by doing so, he was exercising his right to free speech.

"With everything going on in our community, with all the problems our community is having, it just seems politically right," Rodriguez said, according to Fox 26 Houston. "It ain’t right what’s happening. It ain’t right that our country is going the wrong way instead of the right way. I don’t care if you’re Republican or Democrat, it’s just the point about morally doing things right or morally doing things wrong."

Rodriguez claimed that his display is not a threat to agents, adding, “That’s just a little statement I’m putting up for myself.”

The viral display comes as the Trump administration has continued to implement its nationwide immigration enforcement through ICE. As this has continued, the agency has reported a more than 1000 percent increase in assaults on its officers this year, alongside growing cases of doxxing.

Tensions around immigration enforcement have continued to escalate in the state of Texas. Just last week, an anti-ICE gunman opened fire at a federal immigration detention facility in Dallas, killing one detainee and injuring two others before taking his own life. Authorities identified the shooter as Joshua Jahn, who had reportedly used “ICE tracking apps” prior to the attack.