Texas Student Testifies About Death Threats After Challenging Islamic Booth at High School

A Texas high school student who went viral after confronting an Islamic group on his campus told members of Congress last week that he has received death threats for speaking out.

Marco Hunter-Lopez, 16, a student at Wylie East High School and president of the campus Republican Club, testified May 13 before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution and Limited Government. The hearing was titled "Sharia-Free America." Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, invited him to appear.

Hunter-Lopez described an incident on Feb. 2 when he encountered a booth run by four adult women from the group "Why Islam?" The women handed out hijabs to female students, copies of the Quran that included conversion instructions, and a pamphlet titled "Understanding Sharia."

The student posted videos of the booth on social media, which drew national attention. During his testimony, he said he received death threats afterward.

"I had people saying that they were going to be at my house waiting for me to get home and they were going to shoot me," Hunter-Lopez told the subcommittee. "I had people telling me to kill myself. A lot of different things. But I know nobody can proclaim anything over me because I wake up every morning with victory with Christ."

He argued that Sharia law conflicts with the U.S. Constitution and American values. He also said the outside group violated school policy and parental rights.

"Handing materials that present Sharia favorably to minors during the school day — without parental approval — risks normalizing ideas that undermine the very principles our public schools are supposed to uphold," he said. "This is not neutral education; it is ideological promotion under the guise of diversity and inclusion."

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., questioned the purpose of the hearing and asked whether the United States needed special laws targeting specific religious groups. When he directed the question to Hunter-Lopez, the student responded that most signers of the Declaration of Independence were church-attending Christians.

After clips of the exchange spread on X, conservatives praised the teenager for his response. Hunter-Lopez later told Fox News Digital that Raskin repeatedly cut him off before he could fully argue that lawmakers should acknowledge America's Christian foundations.

"I believe that he thinks that he was going to catch me off guard by calling me out. But it didn't," Hunter-Lopez said. "I took the fight."

Representatives for Raskin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hunter-Lopez credited his faith and community for giving him the boldness to speak out. He said his peers became more willing to share their views after the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.

"After that, instead of being scared to speak up, I actually saw more students brave to speak out," he said. He encouraged other students to get involved in their communities.

The student was also asked to testify about allegations that the Republican Club faced hostile scrutiny from school administrators since it launched last year. He said officials initially denied the club for being too political, targeted its posters, and selectively enforced policies on religious and political groups.

Wylie Independent School District officials rejected claims of viewpoint discrimination. A spokesperson said the district does not endorse any religion and remains neutral on religious matters while respecting students' constitutional rights. The district does not operate Islamic prayer rooms or give preferential treatment to one religious group.

The district said the Feb. 2 incident resulted from a missed verification step for visitors, not an effort to promote any religious viewpoint. Officials said they have since updated procedures to prevent similar situations.

Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, said the incident was not an isolated oversight. "This was not a procedural breakdown as the school has said," Self said. "It was intentional, it has happened before, and they just got caught by a young man who was not going to let it happen without pushback."

Wylie ISD called Self's remarks disappointing and said he never contacted district leadership to discuss the matter.

Rep. Chip Roy said Sharia influence is spreading in Texas, citing more than 300 mosques and proposals for Muslim-only cities. He praised Hunter-Lopez for speaking out.

"Marco has seen the consequences firsthand in his own high school, and I applaud his bravery for speaking out and telling the truth about how the growing influence of Islam is affecting our state," Roy said.