A Message from the Board of Directors

You may have received an unsolicited email on Tuesday or Saturday from “Texans for Vaccine Freedom” (TFVF) – an organization you’ve never heard from in such an email. The confusion this has caused is unfortunate. 

These promotional emails were sent despite a temporary restraining order (TRO) signed by Judge Melody Wilkinson on December 2, 2021 pertaining to Jackie Schlegel, and others. Judge Wilkinson’s Order expressly ordered Jackie to not “communicate with current or prospective members, donors, and volunteers in an attempt to rebrand, rename, or otherwise cause confusion in reference to the identity, leadership, and mission as for and between Texans for Vaccine Choice and Texans for Vaccine Freedom.” We will argue to the court that her emails violated that provision.

TFVC and TFVF were two parts of a trio of entities that carried out the mission of “Texans for Vaccine Choice” – a 501(c)(4) organization. Unfortunately, these entities are now involved in a legal proceeding. We have sought to resolve this dispute. Jackie Schlegel is now threatening, in writing, numerous individuals with legal action.

Last fall, our main strategies included calling for a fourth special session and holding elected officials, even at the highest levels and regardless of party, accountable for their stance on vaccine mandates. However, a majority of the board (and majority of the staff) were not convinced that Jackie Schlegel held the same convictions. When ultimately approached by a board member about these issues, Jackie confirmed her stance and said that if the Board didn’t agree with her, they’d have to fire her.

At that time, it was the desire of the majority of TFVC’s Board that we right the ship while respecting Jackie’s contributions to the organization by asking her to accept a period of paid bereavement leave.

However, her immediate termination and removal from TFVC’s Board of Directors became necessary when she initiated a transferred $116,000 from TFVC to TFVF without board approval. This transfer constituted 80% of TFVC’s available funds – your donor dollars. This would have significantly limited the money you donated as being used for strong political and legislative purposes rather than the charitable purposes to which TFVF is almost completely limited. It is important to note that Jackie had effective control over TFVF at the time of this transfer. A transfer like this, both in size and the direction of the transfer, was unprecedented in the history of the two organizations.

Fortunately, the other two members of the TFVC Board, Christine Welborn and Rebecca Hardy, working with TFVC staff and our bank, were able to reverse the transaction, protecting the dollars many of you have donated to engage in the political fight to protect our medical freedoms.

TFVC was compelled to seek the TRO against Jackie Schlegel and TFVF to protect TFVC’s resources from just these sorts of actions. That process ended in an agreement between the parties and an Agreed TRO that was also signed by the court. One of the concerns dealt with in that Agreed TRO was to avoid the confusion caused by emails like the ones you received this week from Jackie.

It was our intent to deal with these matters in court and mediation, but Jackie’s actions, including Tuesday’s and Saturday’s emails, will not allow us to stay silent on this issue. We are compelled to clear up the confusion caused by her email and ongoing social media campaign. 

After her removal, TFVC, under refreshed leadership, is once again effectively advocating for medical freedom in Texas. This includes calling for an immediate fourth special session, collecting over 100 signers to the Vaccine Choice Protection Pledge, and recruiting delegates to champion vaccine choice and medical freedom at the upcoming Republican and Democrat Party state conventions.

TFVC has never been about one person, it is each and every one of you who have sacrificed time, given a donation, attended a rally, or supported the right to choose what we inject (or don’t) into our bodies.

We look forward to a speedy and fair resolution of these legal matters, but in the meantime, we will be vigorously pursuing informed consent, medical privacy, and vaccine choice for all Texans.

With you in the battle,
TFVC Board of Directors

The facts and documentation concerning her removal are available in this Q&A as well as this personal statement from
TFVC’s co-founder and current director, Rebecca Hardy. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us.