People looking to find a little more information out about pro-life Wyoming state Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, R-Cody, may be in for a surprise.
That’s because the URL address belonging to her previous campaign website now redirects to the website of Planned Parenthood, a pro-choice abortion organization.
The http://williamsforhd50.com/ domain Rodriguez-Williams had as her campaign website now automatically redirects to the main donation page for Planned Parenthood, a pro-choice women’s reproductive health organization. No aspect of the previously existing website shows.
When asked about the kerfuffle, Rodriguez-Williams responded that, “It proves that I have been effective in preserving life.”
She did not respond to any follow up questions.
Who’s Rodriguez-Wlliams?
Rodriguez-Williams, a second term representative and member of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, has been one of the most vocal pro-life advocates in Wyoming.
She was the lead sponsor of legislation passed in 2022 and 2023 banning most forms of abortion in Wyoming.
When that legislation was challenged in court, Rodriguez-Williams and others fought to intervene in the cases, an effort that was eventually rejected in February.
Who Did It?
Planned Parenthood has not responded to multiple requests for comment from Cowboy State Daily, asking if it can confirm or deny any role in the URL switch.
According to a GoDaddy “whois” search, a tool used to identify a website’s registry, the ownership of Rodriguez-Williams’ former campaign site now belongs to a third-party domain registration service Domains By Proxy LLC, which is based in Arizona. Website owners frequently use third-party registration vendors like these to conceal the identity of the people running a site.
Domain names are all managed by domain registries, which delegate the reservation of domain names to registrars.
It’s unclear exactly when Rodriguez-Williams’ ownership of the URL expired, but it would have had to at some point for another person to take ownership of it. According to the whois search, the new registration became official Feb. 24.
Park County-based advocacy group Wyoming Rising, which has expressed pro-choice views, has been a frequent critic of Rodriguez-Williams and the Freedom Caucus.
In a March 20 Facebook post, the group accused her and Sen. Tim French, R-Powell, of taking an “anti-Park County attitude” to legislation because of their votes during the 2024 legislative session.
Although neither Rodriguez-Williams nor French are explicitly mentioned, Wyoming Rising recently released two billboards in Cody criticizing the Freedom Caucus as part of its “Park County Proud” campaign. In a related press release, the group said these billboards are directed at Rodriguez-Williams and French.
Wyoming Rising denied any connection to the URL switch.
“We at Wyoming Rising have no connection to this,” said a spokesperson for the organization. “All our actions for our Park County Proud campaign are out and in the open such as our billboards and postcards.”
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
