The trial for a man accused of shooting and killing another man outside the McAllen Masonic lodge in 2023 is underway. The initial trial has also shone the light on various arson incidents at the Masonic lodges in McAllen, Weslaco and Harlingen prior to the shooting also believed to be connected with the suspect.

On July 10, 2023, Julio Diaz of Alamo shot Robert Wise multiple times in the face as he was getting into his pickup truck outside the McAllen Masonic lodge on 118 N. 11th, of which Wise was a member. He was found face down with blood pooling around his head by the wife of another member.

As prosecutors dove into the case on Tuesday, Celestino Mejia III, a fire investigator for the Weslaco Fire Department, gave testimony regarding several arson incidents at the Masonic lodge in Weslaco, which have been linked to Diaz. As mentioned earlier, Diaz is also linked to similar cases in Weslaco and Harlingen.

The arson incidents at different Masonic lodges preceding the murder of Wise suggests the attacks were aimed at Freemasonry more broadly. While their size and influence has dwindled over time, the secretive fraternal organization has long had a foothold in Texas. We have some of the highest participation rates alongside states like Pennsylvania and Ohio and similar to the United States as a whole, it played a key role in the founding of the state.

Given its combination of relevance / secrecy, it should not be a surprise that Freemasonry has been subject to attacks from governments, religions, individuals and other institutions beginning with Pope Clement XII in 1738 all the way to Hitler in the 1930s. While we can’t absolutely determine these attacks were part of a broader attack on Freemasonry as an institution, the arson incidents prior to the murder certainly point in that direction. Nevertheless, since Freemasons are a fraternity and not an organized religion, they aren’t protected by hate crime laws, and Julio Diaz won’t face any hate crime charges. Not sure this is right though.