What evidence linked Monty Bennett to Crowds on Demand and the creation of astroturf groups in Dallas?

1. The central allegation: Bennett backed an astroturf network and used a publicity firm to build it

Investigative reporting says Keep Dallas Safe and several similarly named groups were created and operated by a California publicity firm known for hiring protesters — Crowds on Demand — and that those efforts were financially backed by Monty Bennett and logistically supported by a senior executive of his, based on documents and inside sources reviewed by the Texas Observer ^{[1] [2]}.

2. Documentary and source-based evidence cited by reporters

The Texas Observer’s account rests on internal documents and interviews: reporters say they reviewed materials and spoke with former contractors who described Crowds on Demand building groups and coordinating messaging, and those sources told the Observer that Bennett financed the project and that one of his top executives helped run it ^[1]. Steven Monacelli’s investigative work similarly alleges Bennett paid Crowds on Demand to create groups including Dallas Justice Now and Keep Dallas Safe, and he points to connections between those entities and the Dallas Express, a site Bennett funds ^{[4] [5] [6]}.

3. Pattern evidence: media amplification and overlapping operations

Reporting highlights a pattern in which the Dallas Express, relaunched under Bennett, repeatedly published and amplified the same small set of groups (Keep Dallas Safe, Dallas Justice Now, Save Texas Kids, Protect Texas Kids), sometimes running them as sources or exclusive voices, which reporters treat as circumstantial evidence of coordinated creation and promotion ^{[6] [7]}. D Magazine and other outlets reported that protests organized by Crowds on Demand were covered only by the Dallas Express in at least one instance, reinforcing the pattern of linked operations ^[8].

4. Admissions, denials, and contested facts

Bennett has admitted that his company Ashford hired Crowds on Demand, a key factual foothold for linking him to the contractor known for actor-driven protests, but he otherwise denied the broader findings of the Observer’s investigation that he orchestrated astroturf groups ^[3]. Reporters cite former Crowds on Demand staff and internal documents as corroboration, while Bennett’s public denials and litigation (including suits over media characterizations) show active contestation of the narrative ^{[3] [4]}.

5. Connecting actors and operatives: personnel ties to Crowds on Demand

The identified public faces and operators in Dallas — including figures who previously worked for Crowds on Demand — provide another link: reporting traced Daniel Taylor and associates to prior Crowds on Demand-driven astroturf projects in New Orleans, and those same operatives later surfaced as public representatives of Keep Dallas Safe in Dallas reporting, which journalists use to connect the contractor’s modus operandi to local activity ^{[9] [1]}.

6. What the published record does and does not prove

The available reporting establishes multiple threads — internal documents reviewed by the Texas Observer, testimony from former contractors, pattern evidence of media amplification, Bennett’s admission that his company hired Crowds on Demand, and claims by Monacelli tying Bennett’s funding to specific groups — that together form a plausible evidentiary chain linking Bennett to Crowds on Demand and the creation of astroturf groups in Dallas ^{[1] [4] [3] [2]}. However, the excerpts provided do not include full financial ledgers, contracts publicly filed in court, or on‑the‑record payment receipts presented in these summaries; Bennett’s denials and legal challenges mean some facts remain contested and subject to further verification ^{[3] [4]}.