Alamo Plaza Prepares for Tax Day Tea Party

“There’s no connection to this at all. Our property ends at the end of the orange curb out in front of the shrine. That’s the end of the state property and from there out it's city property. The city controls that park and they can put in the park anyone they want to whoever gets a permit. We haven’t found a way to hide the front of the Alamo yet,” he said.

Stewart says it’s common for organizations of every stripe to use the Alamo to amplify their message. “Everyone wants to have their thing at the Alamo because everyone knows the Alamo all over the world. The PETA folks or who ever it is – they all try to get that wonder picture,” said Stewart.

Julia Hayden, an organizer of the San Antonio Tea Party, says they decided on the Alamo because it seemed a natural fit. “It seemed to us that that would be a place because it is the cradle of Texas Liberty – Texas Independence – it’s the place that most people think of when they think of Texas. That that would be a good place for our tea party,” said Hayden.

The Alamo backdrop is such a hit that it attracted Fox News provocateur Glenn Beck. “Mister Beck will be broadcasting his show from 4 to 5 from in front of the Alamo and he will be introducing our line up of speakers,” said Hayden.

But some critics of the tea party protest say the use of the Alamo is inappropriate. Media Matters president Eric Burns says the historic battlefield should not be dragged into partisan politics. “They are officially being sponsored by the Fox News Channel. They are being sponsored and attended by folks like Rick Perry – Republican congressman Ron Paul – the Tarrant County Republican Party is getting involved with the tea party of Fort Worth,” said Burns.

San Antonio tea party organizers say they are not partisan.

Gov. Perry asked to speak at their Alamo event, but they turned him down. So Perry will now speak at the Fort Worth tea party.

Burns says putting the tea protest at the Alamo also communicates a subtext of violence. “There’s no question that the intent here is to link the violence history of the Alamo with the violent imagery that Glenn Beck uses almost every night on his program on Fox News. This is a guy that speaks openly about revolution,” said Burns.

But looking at the San Antonio’s Tea party’s website tells a different story. There are multiple messages that warn tea party attendees that violent threats against the government will not be tolerated and they will be reported to the appropriate authorities.