Did a "retired sergeant" in Texas say that Muslims have set up a command center with weapons, armored vehicles and a training facility - on top of Muslim-only communities and Sharia courts? No, that's not true: A social media post has misrepresented what a retired training sergeant for the Plano, Texas, police department said during a Collin County Commissioner's Court meeting. He did not claim that the Muslims have set up a command with weapons, armored vehicles and a training facility. He expressed concern that a home overlooking the police training facility has the "hallmarks of being a fortress and command post". The training facility and armored vehicles belong to the Plano Police Training Academy.
The video surfaced in a post published on X on Nov. 20, 2025 by @EricLDaugh (archived here). It is captioned:
🚨 BREAKING: A retired sergeant in Texas has exposed that Muslims have set up a COMMAND CENTER with weapons, armored vehicles and a training facility - on top of Muslim-only communities and Sharia courts.
SAVE YOURSELF, TEXAS! We can't let this spread!
This is a screenshot of the video in the post:
(Image Source: Lead Stories screenshot from x.com/EricLDaugh/status/1991612303415136425.)
This video has been reposted several times, bearing two different TikTok watermarks and finally being filmed from a desktop computer screen by a handheld camera. An original full copy of the video of the March 31, 2025 Commissioners Court is posted on collincountytx.new.swagit.com. The moment when Retired Lieutenant Douglas Deaton, formerly of the Plano Police Department, speaks in the public comments is 5:11 p.m. or at 03:29:30 seconds in the video. A brief summary of Deaton's speech appears on page 16 of the .pdf. of the meeting minutes. It reads:
Retired Lieutenant Douglas Deaton, Plano Police Department, highlighted that the EPIC neighborhood has been established in Plano for 12 years. Mr. Deaton stated that the community has been operational and has interacted with local law enforcement during its existence. He expressed concern with a residence being built next to police training facilities and noted that the house overlooks a restricted access parking lot with specialized bomb and SW AT armored vehicles. Mr. Deaton pointed to the first owner of the house being a leader in the EPIC neighborhood and co-founder of an Islamic research institute, indicating potential ties to the community's development plans. (Time: 5:14 p.m.)
Deaton's shared observations seem to be curated to alarm -- but even so, he did not "expose" the things captioned in the @EricLDaugh post. At one minute into the video posted on X, Deaton said:
The first house built in that neighborhood was built right next to the Plano Police Academy. It's a huge structure with two separate front doors. The rear of the property is just a few feet from a large outdoor warning siren. The house has a large second story platform overlooking the restricted access parking lot where the police department stores specialized vehicles such as bomb trucks, bomb disposal equipment, and the SWAT teams armored vehicle. I am a court recognised expert in SWAT team tactics and procedures. That house has all the hallmarks of a fortress and a command post. The rear of the house looks a lot like an observation post and a shooting platform. Why would somebody choose to build a house so close to a giant warning siren and a police training site? Why would someone build a huge platform overlooking all those specialized police emergency vehicles?
Google Earth archive imagery from Nov. 2013 (not pictured) shows the residence in question was indeed the first of seven homes built on that side of the culdesac which border, or overlook, the police training facility. In the current Google streetview image, there are two remaining vacant lots which border the police training facility. The homes all take up most of their lot and have only narrow gaps between them. The police training facility is the property adjacent to one of many residential developments springing up in the area.
Screenshots from 2001 and 2025 Google Earth Pro satellite images (pictured below) show the amount of development near the Plano Police Training Facility (marked with a yellow pin) over the past decades, including the addition of the six-lane divided East Plano Parkway.
(Image Source: Lead Stories composite image of screenshots from Google Earth Pro.)
The siren (Plano's #37) is surely an unfortunate eye and ear sore for the residents of that home, but like the other Plano residents who live next to one of the storm sirens, is a short term annoyance to exchange for the security of the Outdoor Warning System for tornados and other weather hazards.
The reason the house has two separate front doors, is described by the realtor in a June 25, 2018 post on Facebook (archived here):
This multigenerational home has a separate entrance to a luxurious living quarter featuring a full kitchen, living area, and 2 bedrooms
The rest of the home was described:
....exquisite Modern home in the prestigious Medina Villas of East Plano. It's unmatched quality includes bamboo wood and natural stone floors, commercial grade appliances in the kitchen, quartz countertops, and museum finishes on all interior walls.
On the back of the home, a second floor balcony overlooks the home's private pool (pictured below).
(Image Source: Lead Stories screenshot from facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10155983132849160&set=a.10155983130859160.1073741852.228246034159.)
