The former Alamo Trust CEO, who oversaw much of its historic $700-million makeover in recent years before being pressured out, can continue with the major allegations in her lawsuit against Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and State Land Commissioner Don Buckingham.
San Antonio Federal Judge Xavier Rodriguez made the ruling on Tuesday. And among those allegations from Kate Rogers are that both state officials violated her First Amendment rights as they pressured her to resign from the trust.
"“We are very pleased by the Court’s Order, which keeps all of the Defendants in the case and allows nearly all of Kate’s claims to proceed. We look forward to discovery and trial," said her attorney Lawrence Morales II in a statement to Texas Public Radio.
During a dispute over historical context last year, Rogers was forced out of her position at the Alamo following assertions from the state that her views did not align with its expectations.
The disagreements were triggered by posts from the Alamo’s social media accounts acknowledging Indigenous Peoples' Day in October 2025.
The Alamo itself is owned by the Texas General Land Office, which is overseen by Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, who had decried the posting saying, “Woke has no place at the Alamo.”
Later that month, Rogers was forced to resign from her position, which she had held since 2021.
She said on TPR’s The Source in January 2026 that Lt. Governor Dan Patrick publicly expressed displeasure with a dissertation she had written in 2023 that argued that the Alamo’s story should include Indigenous peoples and other communities often minimized in traditional retellings.
The suit alleges that Patrick and Buckingham had transformed the Alamo “from the 'Cradle of Liberty' to a Graveyard of Censorship in Just Eleven Days.”
“The fighters at the Alamo courageously held off Santa Anna’s troops for thirteen days. But Lieutenant Governor Patrick and Commissioner Buckingham only needed eleven days to lay siege to the First Amendment,” the original complaint filed in November 2025 said.
Court documents show that Rogers was suing to be reinstated and was also seeking monetary damages and a declaratory judgement that the acts committed by the state were a violation of the First Amendment.
Patrick has been a key figure in winning state funding for the Alamo Plaza project, which paid for most of the work. The City of San Antonio and Bexar County were also among the public funding partners.
"As Lt. Governor, I will never stop fighting to preserve and protect the Alamo, and the principles of freedom, liberty, and patriotism that its defenders laid down their lives to uphold in 1836." Patrick has said he became interested in the Alamo as a young boy through Disney productions related to the mission-turned-fortress.
While the Alamo defenders were defeated by Mexican forces, historians believe the battle delayed their march across Texas and gave Texas Army Commander Sam Houston more time to raise an army large enough to win Texas independence.
The Alamo in recent years has added a new collections building, a pavilion and open lawn space, and a re-creation of the Alamo's main gate. A visitor center and museum, including a 4D theater with simulated battle effects, will open in 2027. All those projects were overseen or started by Rogers, who sought to tell a more inclusive story of all the peoples and cultures before, during, and after the battle, and based on citizen input on the huge makeover of the Alamo grounds.
The improvements are intended to make a visit to the Alamo a bigger and more educational experience, on par with national historic parks.
Rogers now serves as the chief development officer for the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. Before her tenure at the Alamo, Rogers worked as an executive at H-E-B and the Charles Butt Foundation as the Vice President of Community Outreach & Engagement.
