A deeply disturbing new investigation by CNN's KFile found that Texas Railroad Commission Republican candidate Bo French made repeated, public calls for the death penalty to be implemented against former President Barack Obama, as well as any "Obama conspirators," in multiple social media posts that have since been deleted.
In May 2020, as the first era of the Trump Justice Department moved to drop its Russia-related case against Donald's former national security advisor Michael Flynn, French was nearly manic on social media, repeatedly using the "HangEmHigh" hashtag in reference to Trump's predecessor, as well as anyone he deemed a "conspirator."
In response to a social media post that appeared to blame President Obama for the infamous Russia investigation, French wrote, "The penalty for treason used to be death. Even for a former president. #HangEmHigh."
The discovery of French's 2020 posts calling for the lynching of a Black president comes as the candidate is currently under intense fire from both sides of the political fence over a recent post that portrayed South Asian students attending a University of Texas football game as "foreigners" who are displacing Americans. The backlash to that incident has been so intense that it led veteran GOP strategist Karl Rove to announce he would back French's Democratic opponent, and Republican TX Senator John Cornyn to make it clear he will not vote for French.
I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined. pic.twitter.com/Ys1bql0y4U
— Bo French (@bofrench) September 13, 2026
French's horrifyingly extreme racist rhetoric is not new, nor has it shown any signs of stopping.
At one point, when responding to a question about whether or not then-Rep. Adam Schiff had been arrested, French said, "It's time we drop the hammer on these treasonous b-----ds and punish them with the full measure of justice. #HangEmHigh."
In February 2025, while chairing the Tarrant County Republican Party, French suggested that Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency should be rebranded as "Dangle Officials Gallos Expeditiously."
I want more than perp walks. I want public executions," he wrote.
In response to another post about wanting to see Schiff arrested, French responded, "No. I want to see public executions for traitors."
In its investigation, CNN confirmed that the nauseating posts came from an earlier iteration of French's current X account. Most of the offending posts are no longer publicly available. Still, it remains unclear whether French deleted them himself or the platform removed them for violating rules.
Despite the massive scandal surrounding French, both Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General and Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton have refused to turn their backs on him or withdraw their endorsements.
Paxton has publicly stated that he condemns "racism in all its forms," but has had nothing to say about French specifically.
