A woman who shouted and cussed during a Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting in January was criminally disruptive, a jury ruled Monday.
Carolyn Rodriguez, who goes by Carolina, was arrested at the Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting on Jan. 28. She signed up to speak during the designated public comment period, and she listed expletives to protest meeting rules that ban swearing. County Judge Tim O鈥橦are ordered her out. As she left the room, she yelled 鈥淸Expletive] you!鈥� and shouted 鈥淚t鈥檚 not against the law!鈥� as she got arrested.
A six-member jury found Rodriguez guilty of hindering proceedings by disorderly conduct, a high-level misdemeanor. The jury is scheduled to decide her sentence Tuesday. That could range from probation to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
This case is about free speech, Rodriguez鈥檚 attorney said after the verdict.
"We will continue to fight against the tyranny in Tarrant County, where we have elected officials who just want to suppress people's constitutional rights," he said.
At Rodriguez鈥檚 trial on Monday, Tarrant County prosecutor Lloyd Whelchel told the jury the problem was Rodriguez鈥檚 conduct, not what she said.
鈥淭his case has absolutely nothing to do with free speech,鈥� he said.
Judge Brian Bolton agreed, ruling the charge against Rodriguez did not involve speech issues.
The commissioners court is allowed to set rules for its meetings, and the rules in place at the time were included in the speakers鈥� packet Rodriguez had to fill out, Whelchel said. Those rules banned swearing and warned that violations of the rules could lead to arrest.
Rodriguez鈥檚 shouting disrupted the meeting, which couldn鈥檛 continue until she was done, Whelchel said. He called in Chief Deputy Craig Driskell, who is in charge of security in county buildings and ordered Rodriguez鈥檚 arrest.
鈥淏efore she was even out of court, she was screaming and yelling,鈥� Driskell said during his testimony.
If Rodriguez hadn鈥檛 been shouting a swear, but something like 鈥渦nicorn,鈥� he still would have had her arrested, Driskell said.
Rodriguez鈥檚 defense disagreed. This is 鈥渏ust a case about cussing,鈥� Rodriguez鈥檚 attorney James T. Chiles said, arguing the state is making a big deal out of nothing.
鈥淭here was absolutely no delay between her and the next speaker,鈥� he said.
Rodriguez had stopped shouting by the time the next speaker arrived at the podium and started talking, Chiles said.
Rodriguez is already familiar to law enforcement. She鈥檚 a who films interactions with police for her YouTube channel, Carolina in Fort Worth, which has almost 100,000 subscribers.
Prosecutors tried to show the jury she went to commissioners court on Jan. 28 to get views. Her channel is the first thing she mentions in her public comment, Whelchel said.
鈥淪he wants sensationalism, 鈥檆ause that鈥檚 who she is,鈥� he said.
Bolton allowed Whelchel to show the jury a video . She filmed herself walking into an apparently empty county facilities building, sat down at a computer, pulled up one of her YouTube videos and left a note that said 鈥淐arolina in Ft. Worth was here.鈥�
Rodriguez鈥檚 defense team argued that wanting likes 鈥� and her actions at the January meeting 鈥� are not crimes.
They called in Democratic County Commissioner Alisa Simmons, who testified the meeting went on without delay after Rodriguez cussed and shouted.
The prosecution tried to stop witnesses from giving opinions about whether Rodriguez鈥檚 arrest violated free speech, but it still came up during Simmons鈥� testimony. Simmons said she believed the past and current rules of decorum limit people鈥檚 speech.
Whelchel asked her how she knows profanity is protected speech.
鈥淛ust like I know a tree is green,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have to be an arborist to know that.鈥�
Simmons is not a lawyer. Whelchel asked her what law school she went to and which cases she based her conclusions on.
鈥淵ou have a hot sports opinion about it, but you really don鈥檛 know the law,鈥� he said.
Simmons listened to county attorney Mark Kratovil, she said. At the meeting, she asked Kratovil if profanity is protected speech. He expressed hesitance to give legal advice in public 鈥� that usually happens behind closed doors 鈥� but after advising commissioners to follow the decorum policy, he answered.
鈥淚 can give you an answer to that question. Yes, it鈥檚 dependent on the facts of what鈥檚 occurred, yes,鈥� he said.
The defense team also tried to compel Republican County Judge Tim O鈥橦are to testify. O鈥橦are has the power to enforce the rules at commissioners court, and he was the one who ordered Rodriguez out for swearing.
The prosecution asked the judge to throw out that subpoena because the alleged crime is on tape, making his testimony unnecessary. Bolton sided with the prosecution.
Simmons and O鈥橦are are vocal adversaries. In recent months, O鈥橦are, a Republican, led a redistricting effort that reshaped the commissioners court precinct map. The new map packs Simmons鈥� Precinct 2 with Republicans, making it harder for her to win reelection next year. O鈥橦are has said he wasn鈥檛 targeting Simmons, but that it鈥檚 always been his goal to add another Republican to the court鈥檚 existing majority.
Whelchel wanted to show the jury Simmons is biased against O鈥橦are by showing them a picture of her flipping the bird in O鈥橦are鈥檚 direction at a recent commissioners court meeting. Rodriguez鈥檚 attorney Mark Streiff objected.
鈥淭his isn鈥檛 a trial about redistricting,鈥� he said.
The judge agreed to withhold the photo. Simmons said she was not flipping off O鈥橦are, but the redistricting process in general.
Rodriguez鈥檚 lawyers also tried to show the punishments for swearing were not doled out evenly. CJ Grisham, an attorney and gun rights activist based in Temple, spoke at Tarrant County Commissioners Court on Jan. 28 to talk about his friend Mason Yancy, who died in Tarrant County custody in December.
Grisham cussed and got thrown out. Video of the incident shows him asking deputies to let him get his personal items and shouting that profanity is protected speech when Simmons asked about it from the dais. But he was allowed to leave, unlike Rodriguez, Streiff said.
鈥淣o arrest there,鈥� Streiff said. 鈥淣o hindrance.鈥�
Charles Hermes was arrested at the Jan. 28 meeting, before Rodriguez. He clapped for a speaker after O鈥橦are warned him not to do it. He faces the same charge, hindering proceedings by disorderly conduct, and his trial date has not been set, according to county records.
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org.
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