Houston Confederate rally 'earliest evidence' of Russian interference, says Mueller report

About a dozen people protested against what they called the threat of radical Islam, at the Islamic Da'Wah Center, Saturday, May 21, 2016, in Houston. They were met by several dozen counter-protesters. That protest was later revealed to be organized by Russian trolls. less About a dozen people protested against what they called the threat of radical Islam, at the Islamic Da'Wah Center, Saturday, May 21, 2016, in Houston. They were met by several dozen counter-protesters. That ... more Photo: Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle Photo: Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 21 Caption Close Houston Confederate rally 'earliest evidence' of Russian interference, says Mueller report 1 / 21 Back to Gallery

A Confederate rally planned in Houston in November 2015 was the "earliest evidence" that Russians attempted to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, according to the Mueller report released Thursday.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on the two-year-long investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election states that an Instagram post on an account called Stand For Freedom (which was later linked to Russian online trolls) tried to organize a rally in Houston.

"Good evening buds!" the post read, according to the report. "Well I am planning to organize a confederate rally in ... Houston on the 14 of November and I want more people to attend."

It is unclear if the protest ever happened.

"(We) identified dozens of U.S. rallies organized by (Russia's private Internet Research Agency)," the report said. "The earlier evidence of a rally was a 'confederate rally' in November 2015. The IRA continued to organize rallies even after the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The attendance at rallies varied. Some rallies appear to have drawn few (if any) participants, while others drew hundreds."

Another protest in Houston organized by Russians was in May 2016, designed to rally against Islam outside the downtown Houston Islamic Da'wah Center. Organized by a group called the Heart of Texas, it called for protesters to come out and rally against the "Islamization" of Texas.

The rally drew only a small group of protesters, while an even larger group of counter-protesters showed up, according to earlier Houston Chronicle reports. None of the roughly dozen protesters were part of the Heart of Texas group, instead only showing up on their own accord wearing "White Lives Matter" shirts and waving the Confederate flag.

Heart of Texas was later identified as a fabricated social media account made by the IRA, for which a dozen IRA employees were indicted in the United States.

Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message