Former Alamo Trust President Kate Rogers filed a lawsuit on Monday, November 17, 2025, in Texas against Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, the Alamo Trust board and related groups, claiming wrongful termination, violation of her First Amendment rights and loss of severance pay.
Rogers resigned from the Alamo Trust after Patrick publicly criticized a doctoral dissertation she wrote in 2023 about Indigenous history at the Alamo.
The lawsuit says Patrick’s comments and pressure from other state officials created conditions that led to her resignation.
The defendants listed in the lawsuit are Patrick, Buckingham, the Alamo Trust, the Remember the Alamo Foundation and current Alamo Trust President Esperanza “Hope” Andrade. Rogers says the defendants retaliated against her because of her academic work and public statements, which she argues are protected speech.
Rogers says she had an agreement that guaranteed severance pay if she left the organization, but that the severance was withheld after the controversy over her dissertation and public comments. The lawsuit also mentions criticism of an October 2023 social media post recognizing Indigenous Peoples Day.
Rogers says reactions to her dissertation and the social media post increased pressure on her to resign. The lawsuit says she supported presenting the Alamo’s history to include Indigenous people, Tejanos and other groups, while Patrick and Buckingham opposed that approach.