An Austin woman’s arrest launches an aggressive 7-day hostage standoff against 300 law-enforcement agents and a fight for Texas sovereignty in the spring of 1997.

SYNOPSIS:

“The Texas Secessionists” is a TRUE CRIME television PILOT drama series and

adaptation of the 2023 nonfiction BOOK, published by Texas A&M University Press.

This really is a MODERN OUTLAW TALE set in the wilds of West Texas in 1997, during what

was thought to be the heyday of the anti-nationalist movement. However, the FBI

consultant believes there are more secessionists operating in the United States today.

Our story begins with Jo Ann Turner, a woman drowning in debt who unwittingly joins an

antigovernment militia that has plans to secede Texas from the United States. When Turner

is arrested for writing fake liens on behalf of the militia, its leader Richard Lance McLaren,

and his gullible followers takes hostages in exchange for her release. This begins a 7-day

war between McLaren’s group and 300 law enforcement agents led by The Texas Rangers.

Our protagonists are Texas Ranger commander Barry Caver and negotiator Jess

Malone, who attempt to resolve the standoI without violence.

Key to this story is the antagonist McLaren, a Missouri native and the self-proclaimed

ambassador of the Republic of Texas. McLaren thinks himself to be a hero, like those of

The Alamo, in his quest to free the sovereign nation of Texas that he believes was

annexed illegally by the United States in 1845.

Comp:

Waco, the 2018 TV mini series

Starring Michael Shannon. You’ve got these characters who all want to be taken seriously,

but they aren’t able to think critically about their decision-making. It’s the way they present

themselves. They are tethered to a leader for no logical reason.

Future episodes, two through four, will follow the chaos that erupts in the Davis Mountains with detailed day-by-day actual accounts. A modern take on a western shootout ensues with Texas Rangers searching on horseback, U.S. Army soldiers flying helicopters, and vigilantes on foot firing vintage hunting rifles.

THE TEXAS SECESSIONISTS (LIMITED TV SERIES PILOT 1-HOUR)