Tarrant County Commissioners Court meetings give members of the public an opportunity to speak directly to their elected officials.
Some people take advantage of that opportunity frequently, and Ryon Price is one of them.
He鈥檚 the senior pastor at Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth and part of an activist movement to lower the number of deaths at the county jail.
Price was talking about one of those deaths at the meeting on July 2 when his allotted three minutes ran out.
Over the course of about eight seconds, County Judge Tim O鈥橦are warned him twice to stop speaking, then ordered sheriff鈥檚 deputies to remove him from the room.
Deputies gave Price a pink trespass warning slip and told him not to come back to the building for a year, he told 四虎影院 the week after.
Returning would constitute a crime.
鈥淧eople exceed their allotted minutes by a few seconds all the time,鈥� Price said. 鈥淚 am not aware of anyone else having been banned over such a minor infraction."
Price was one of multiple people O鈥橦are kicked out of the July 2 meeting. Two told 四虎影院 they got trespass warnings that effectively ban them from speaking at Commissioners Court.
Price was trying to finish his thought when he went over his time, he said. He called his punishment 鈥渙ut of proportion."
"I think that if you risk going just a second or two 鈥� or in my case, eight seconds 鈥� over, and lose a fundamental First Amendment right, then yeah, I think that it's deeply troubling,鈥� he said.
Enforcing the rules
People who sign up to speak at Commissioners Court must follow certain rules.
Speakers can comment on a topic of their choice, but their time is limited to three minutes, according to the rules of decorum. They must behave in an 鈥渙rderly and appropriate manner鈥� or be ordered to leave. Insulting the 鈥渉onesty and integrity鈥� of the court or a court member is not allowed. Neither are racial, ethnic or gender slurs.
Possible punishments include the cancellation of a speaker鈥檚 time, removal from the courtroom, a contempt citation or 鈥渙ther civil sanctions and criminal charges.鈥�
While the government can put rules in place for public comment, the punishment for breaking those rules should fit the crime, said Peter Steffensen, an attorney and the assistant director of .
"I would even go so far as to say that even if you broke a rule and go a few seconds over, I think that's something that really the court should kind of forgive and forget,鈥� he said.
The bar should be higher for just kicking someone out of a meeting, never mind banning them, Steffensen added.
鈥淚 think if your conduct is disrupting the meeting so badly that no business can be done, then that strikes me as a level of conduct where it would be reasonable to say, we're asking you to leave," he said.
O鈥橦are鈥檚 office did not respond to multiple requests for an interview about how he decides to enforce meeting rules.
A Tarrant County spokesperson also did not respond to a request for an interview about whether it鈥檚 part of county policy to ban people for rule violations like going over time.
In an emailed statement, Tarrant County Sheriff鈥檚 Office spokesperson Robbie Hoy acknowledged the public鈥檚 right to speak at meetings, 鈥渟o long as they follow the reasonable rules and decorum of the Court.鈥�
鈥淓ach situation is different and all circumstances of the disruption is taken into account when a Criminal Trespass Warning is issued by law enforcement,鈥� Hoy wrote. 鈥淚t is customary for CT Warnings to last one year, but can last 2 or more.鈥�
Bans from public meetings aren鈥檛 unheard of. Last year, the Fort Worth City Council banned two frequent commenters, Adrian Smith and Bob Willoughby.
Smith and Willoughby鈥檚 bans lasted a few months and were the result of "cumulative infractions and disruptions,鈥� They had been asked to leave or forcibly removed from council chambers more than five times in 2023.
Commissioners Court meetings have been contentious the past few months. After O鈥橦are told his colleague Commissioner Alisa Simmons to 鈥渟it there and be quiet鈥� at an April meeting, some members of the public accused him of 鈥渋ncessant bullying.鈥�
Supporters of O鈥橦are and Simmons clashed at a May 7 meeting where multiple people were kicked out.
O鈥橦are had Janell Johnson removed from a meeting on June 4 during her comments about the death of her brother Anthony Johnson Jr. in county jail custody. She raised her voice and addressed O鈥橦are directly. Two jailers have since been indicted for murder in Johnson鈥檚 death.
Johnson spoke again at a later meeting without incident.
Laurie Duke, a stay-at-home mom and former teacher, also got kicked out of the July 2 Commissioners Court meeting for going over her three minutes, but she said she didn鈥檛 face the same punishment as Price.
In an interview, Duke said that was her first time speaking at Commissioners Court. She had one sentence left and thought she鈥檇 be allowed to get it out.
鈥淚 had something to say. I made an effort to get there, and they need to know it鈥檚 not easy for people,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t's a privilege. I feel privileged to even be able to make it there.鈥�
Unlike Price, Duke didn鈥檛 get a trespass warning, she said. She grabbed her two kids, and deputies escorted her to the elevators and pushed the down button.
When bans aren鈥檛 doled out evenly, they give the impression that people are being punished for the content of their comments, Steffensen said.
"I think it's important to have clarity in the rules and specificity in the rules, so that the public is less concerned that these rules are going to be enforced in arbitrary ways,鈥� he said.
Long or indefinite bans
Lon Burnam doesn鈥檛 know how long he鈥檚 banned from Commissioners Court. The former state representative also got a trespass warning on July 2, but not for speaking over his time.
Burnam went up to O鈥橦are after the public portion of the meeting ended, to confront him for the way he spoke to Simmons, he said.
Simmons tried to ask county staff a question while O'Hare banged his gavel and told her she was out of order.
鈥淚 wish I hadn't lost my temper over it, but it's kind of an Old South guy thing,鈥� Burnam said. 鈥淵ou defend a woman and her right to be heard. Particularly if she's representing half a million people."
By his account, Burnam went up to the commissioners鈥� bench and told O鈥橦are he doesn鈥檛 respect him.
鈥淗e ordered me out just two or three sentences into my comment," Burnam said. 鈥淪omebody said I broke a rule by moving the podium that people come to speak at, but it's moved all the time. How would I know that rule?"
四虎影院 asked O鈥橦are for his recollection of the conversation but did not receive a response.
Burnam got his trespass warning delivered to his home a week after the meeting, he said. He shared a picture of the sheriff鈥檚 deputies who delivered it, one of them holding a copy of the warning. The paper lists O鈥橦are as the person who warned Burnam he was trespassing.
Burnam didn鈥檛 get a time frame for how long he鈥檚 banned, he said.
For Price, he said deputies told him he鈥檚 banned for a year, but that鈥檚 not in writing on his trespass slip.
If punishments happen, they need to be clear, Steffensen said. Long or indefinite bans are "deeply concerning.鈥�
"There's always going to be those people that show up to your meetings and want to be able to say their piece, and that is not a bug. That's a feature of the system,鈥� he said. 鈥淧eople are supposed to be able to have their say and be able to provide input into the way that government functions."
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org. You can follow Miranda on X @MirandaRSuarez.
四虎影院 is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider today. Thank you.
