The Texas butterfly center in the middle of a right-wing conspiracy theory is closing indefinitely

• The butterfly center in the middle of a right-wing conspiracy campaign is closing indefinitely.
• It was forced to briefly close last weekend, citing threats linked to a pro-Trump border wall event.

The National Butterfly Center, which has been caught in the middle of a right-wing conspiracy campaign, is closing indefinitely, according to a notice posted to its website on Wednesday.

"We regret to announce that the National Butterfly Center will be closed to the public — both members and visitors — for the immediate future," the notice said.

The center, which sits at the Texas-Mexico border in Mission, Texas, was forced to close for three days last weekend, citing mounting threats linked to a pro-Trump border wall event and years of baseless human trafficking conspiracy theories promoted by Brian Kolfage, the founder of We Build The Wall.

On Tuesday, however, the center wrote on Twitter that it had resumed operations in "limited fashion, for everyone's safety."

But Wednesday's notice said that the decision to close indefinitely was made "in the wake of recent events targeting the center."

Kolfage baselessly said in November 2019 that the center was involved in human trafficking, after local officials and others had raised concerns about the ecological impact of building a border wall near the center's 100-acres of land.

The butterfly center sued Kolfage, We Build the Wall, and associated construction companies in December 2019 — specifically alleging Kolfage's harassment campaign defamed the center.

Since then, the center has been visited by individuals associated with far-right extremist groups like the Oath Keepers and Three Percenters, and has been targeted by conspiracy theorists, My Rio Grande Valley News reported.

Last month, the center's executive director, Marianna Wright, was visited by a Virginia congressional candidate who sought access to the back of the butterfly center so she could see "illegals crossing on rafts," according to an affidavit Wright filed and shared with Insider.

Wright also said in a press release that she was warned in January that she and the butterfly center would be targets of last weekend's border wall event.

Because of the warning, she told Insider that she closed the center and stayed away from it during the three-day period it was closed.

But as the weekend's border wall event took place, a handful of right-wing individuals ended up visiting the butterfly center including Women Fighting for America CEO Christie Hutcherson and South Carolina congressional candidate Lynz Piper-Loomis, as well as Ben Bergquam, a correspondent for Real America's Voice News.

Mission Police Department did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Jeffrey Glassberg, president and founder of the North American Butterfly Association, said in a statement shared by the National Butterfly Center that the safety of visitors and staff is a "primary concern," and that the center will reopen when authorities give a "green light."