Viral Texas activist Nick Mollberg says Republicans have been ‘conned’ into bigotry
Nick Mollberg’s testimony went viral online. (Texas Senate/Canva)
Nick Mollberg's testimony went viral online. (Texas Senate/Canva)
The past few weeks have been defined by a series of sequential ‘firsts’ for Nick Mollberg; not only did he testify before Congress for the first time in mid-May, but its also his first time experiencing internet stardom through a viral clip of his passionately direct speech on trans rights.
“What’s wild for me is, like, I’m not used to being internet famous. I’ve never gone viral before,” Mollberg tells PinkNews in an exclusive interview. “I’m just like, you know, holy cr*p, like I just did what I thought was morally right, I did not expect it to blow up or anything like that.”
In the waning hours of a brisk Monday evening (12 May), Nick, alongside several other public witnesses, took to the Texan Senate floor to decry yet another bill that attacked trans people in the state.
House Bill 229 sought to redefine Texas law so that it only recognised two sexes, male and female, essentially denying that trans people, intersex people, and gender-diverse people exist.
The Texas-born software engineer, fueled by a feeling of revulsion as he witnessed the State legislators supporting a bill that denied the existence of trans people, gave an undeniably abrasive and impassioned speech, telling Republicans to look him in the eyes as he called them cowards.
The clip quickly went viral across social media, with celebs such as Pedro Pascal and George Takei sharing his testimony online, which Nick says is “cool.”
‘I felt it was incumbent upon me to speak up’
Rather than being motivated, in any way, by a desire for fame, Nick says his decision to speak before Texas Congress was simply what he felt was right to do.
“I’ve had, you know, gay, trans, nonbinary friends for pretty much my entire life … my cousin and her wife left Austin for the East Coast back in 2014. This was before gay marriage became legal at the federal level and they just had kids,” he says. “It really, really sucks to see state officials in Texas using them as an absolute punching bag.
“One of the reasons that I think the testimony blew up is because… [Republicans] know this is a nakedly opportunistic and just unnecessarily cruel piece of legislation that serves no one. And so, you know, I felt it was incumbent upon me to speak up. I’ve been trying to do that more.”
Surrounded by fellow activists preparing their own testimonials, Nick took to the Texas Senate’s podium, telling attendees that, would this Bill have been proposed “50 years ago, 60 years ago,” it would have referred to “Black women going into white bathrooms.”
What truly struck Nick during that moment was not the looks of the Republicans and lobbyists driving the law, but how few of them were actually there.
“It is a physically sickening experience, looking at them in the eyes,” he says. “That is why I told them, you know, look me in the eyes while I call you a coward. I’m not afraid of you. You are trying to make all the trans people, all the gender non-conforming people, all the non-binary people in this room and in this state afraid. I’m not afraid of you.
“They are opportunistic. They are spineless and feckless… we have a bunch of people whose only reason for being in office is to enrich themselves, but they can’t improve the lives of the people that they serve, and so they have to do so with this kind of distraction, with this kind of nonsense.”
Despite the rage he was feeling, Nick says he was “deeply moved” from the testimony of several other activists at the Senate hearing, many of whom were trans.
“I’m grateful to get the message out, but, you know, the sad reality is that a white cis dude telling these people they’re bigots is going to come across a lot differently than people from, you know, various marginalised groups.
“I think it’s incumbent upon anybody who finds themselves in a situation where they have a bigger platform to elevate voices around them who are more directly involved and have more skin in the game.”
The fight goes on, despite anti-trans wins
The Bill tragically passed several months after Nick’s testimony, with Texas attorney general Greg Abbott vowing to sign it into law.
Nick, a storied activist – his voice self-admittedly hoarse from facing tear gas at an ICE protest just a day before his interview with PinkNews – says a large part of where his “anger and indignation” comes from is the willingness of Republican lawmakers to throw groups under the bus.
He argues that a large portion of state legislators have been “conned” into opposing trans rights.
“They have been tricked, they are conned into demonising people that they’ve never met, that they don’t understand,” he says. “It is insanely disgusting to see in person, sitting across from these people who are there to hurt people. Like that is the sole reason for the legislation. It is to score a point with their base.
“The thing that is so infuriating about this is it’s trans people today, but I don’t know if it’ll be trans people 10 years from now. I’ve got an 18-year-old non-binary cousin and I asked them, like, ‘yo, what kind of homophobia or bigotry or, you know, just general discrimination do you experience in school?’ And they just sat there and thought for a few second and said, ‘Not really any.'”
‘It’s my obligation as a human to protect my community’
Various studies suggest that more Gen Z Americans identify as LGBTQ+ than ever before, while others suggest that ‘Zoomers’ are more open-minded about their sexuality than previous generations.
Hearing the perspective of younger generations gives Nick plenty of hope that things will get better, but that doesn’t stop him from acting to prevent a bleak future.
“Sure they see horrendous bigotry coming from their state and federal government, but from their peers, no, that hatred doesn’t exist,” he says.
What’s more for Nick, he takes solace from the fact that, as history has shown; eventually, love always wins.
“They fought against gay marriage and they fought against interracial marriage, like the goalpost moves constantly. As soon as that Overton window catches up, and as soon as the bigots start realising that it’s not going to be as effective anymore, they will have to change up the game. They’ll pick a new target.
“All the doomsday scenarios those monsters lied about, you know, those just never came to pass.”
Regardless of which way the wind blows, Nick says that his unwavering support for those being “punched down” by society will never change. To him, it’s personal.
“I think it is absolutely a fundamental obligation of every single human being who loves their community, who who wants to protect them to fight back when horrible things are being done to them.
“When my cousin fled Texas before gay marriage had been legalised with her wife, it was heartbreaking for me. I’m holding, you know, their kiddo in my arms knowing I’m going to see this kid a lot less because of the hatred that abides in my state. And I thought that, you know, it’s my obligation as a human to protect my community, protect the people that I love and care about. I will never ever stop doing that.”
