Rev. Ryon Price鈥檚 yearlong ban from the Tarrant County Commissioners Court only lasted about a month and a half, after the Sheriff鈥檚 Office approved his appeal, Price said Tuesday.
Price, the senior pastor of Fort Worth鈥檚 Broadway Baptist Church, got a trespass warning at the July 2 Commissioners Court meeting, after he spoke eight seconds over his allotted public comment time.
County Judge Tim O鈥橦are gave Price two warnings that his three minutes had run out before ordering sheriff鈥檚 deputies to escort Price out of the room. Deputies advised him not to come back to the county administration building in downtown Fort Worth for a year, Price told 四虎影院.
But Price was back in the courtroom Tuesday, where he once again took the podium during public comment.
"I'm here lawfully, because on Friday, I received notice that my appeal of my one-year ban from this court has been approved,鈥� Price said. 鈥淚 appreciate the respectful letter of notice Sheriff Waybourn sent to me, and I do apologize to the court for exceeding my time allotment."
Baptist preachers like Price 鈥渉ave a penchant for being long-winded,鈥� but that鈥檚 not why he spoke over his time, he said.
Price is a member of a local activist group pushing for better county jail conditions. On July 2, he spoke following the family of Anthony Johnson Jr., a man who died of asphyxiation after jailers pepper sprayed him and knelt on his back. Two now-former jailers have been charged with murder in the case.
Price was 鈥渄eeply affected鈥� by the Johnson family鈥檚 comments, he said.
鈥淚 felt and still feel that what happened to him in the Tarrant County Jail could and should have been averted, had what we citizens have been saying over these past two years been heeded,鈥� he said.
After 四虎影院 wrote about Price鈥檚 ban and other people thrown out of the courtroom in recent months 鈥� some who got banned, some who did not 鈥� O鈥橦are clarified meeting rules.
If anyone speaks over their three minutes, they鈥檒l be warned once and escorted out of the meeting if they continue, he explained on July 16.
Whether someone gets a trespass warning is up to sheriff鈥檚 deputies and decided on a case-by-case basis, according to Sheriff鈥檚 Office spokesperson Robbie Hoy.
Former state representative Lon Burnam was also banned from Commissioners Court on July 2, after he confronted O鈥橦are about his treatment of a fellow commissioner, he previously told 四虎影院.
Burnam also appealed his ban but has not heard anything back yet, he said Tuesday via text message.
O鈥橦are has started reading the court鈥檚 rules for decorum at the beginning of each Commissioners Court meeting, but he said Tuesday would be the last time.
鈥淚 want to commend our public speakers the last two meetings, for making public comments more civil, and for your cooperation,鈥� he told the audience.
Commissioners will look at a new courtroom decorum policy in the coming months, O鈥橦are added.
There was a tense moment later in Tuesday鈥檚 meeting, when one of Anthony Johnson Jr.鈥檚 sisters, Janell Johnson, took the podium. She has become a frequent speaker since her brother鈥檚 death in custody. O鈥橦are instructed deputies to remove her from a meeting in June after she confronted him directly.
As Janell spoke Tuesday, calling for accountability for her brother鈥檚 death, her volume rose. She slapped a small notebook on the podium鈥檚 surface and said, 鈥淒o something, now.鈥�
鈥淢iss Johnson, please lower your voice,鈥� O鈥橦are said.
O鈥橦are warned her to lower her voice a second time, and Janell walked away from the podium.
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.
