A federal judge in Fort Worth denied a Bitcoin company鈥檚 request to block a rural community in Hood County from voting whether to become a new city.
Judge Reed O鈥機onnor rejected MARA Holdings鈥� request in the federal Northern District of Texas for a temporary restraining order on an election for Mitchell Bend to incorporate as Texas鈥� newest city and regulate the company鈥檚 nearby Bitcoin mine.
O鈥機onnor said in the ruling that the order was denied because MARA Holdings, or MARA, couldn鈥檛 prove a 鈥渟ubstantial threat of irreparable harm and that the issuance of a preliminary injunction will not disserve the public interest.鈥�
鈥淸E]ven if incorporation succeeds鈥攁nd it may not鈥擯laintiffs can still challenge the validity of the election and the creation of 鈥楳itchell Bend鈥� after the results are certified,鈥� O鈥機onnor wrote in the ruling.
The Mitchell Bend incorporation question is still on the ballot on Hood County鈥檚 website as of Monday, Nov. 3.
The Bitcoin mine, which MARA has owned for almost two years, has been a source of noise pollution that residents say has been the cause of a range of health issues including lack of sleep, vertigo, nausea and motion sickness.
Mitchell Bend residents who have been leading the effort to incorporate their community said they鈥檙e looking forward to seeing the election through on Tuesday.
Resident and advocate Danny Lakey told 四虎影院 he expected the judge鈥檚 ruling.
鈥淪tate law is pretty clear when filing an incorporation,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he process is very clear, very plain and we followed it to the letter.鈥�
MARA鈥檚 lawsuit called the election 鈥渋llegal鈥� and accused Hood County officials of 鈥渃olluding鈥� with residents to hold the election.
鈥淲e believe municipal incorporation should serve the genuine needs of communities, not be used to target or weaponize the process against law-abiding businesses,鈥� a spokesperson for MARA said in a previous statement. Officials from Hood County did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
But residents told 四虎影院 that incorporating as a city is the only tool at their disposal to be able to control the noise levels coming from the operation.
Cheryl Shadden, who lives across the street from the mine, said she doesn鈥檛 know how the election is going to go.
鈥淲e've tried everything else to try to help this area,鈥� Shadden said. 鈥淚'm praying to God, praying to God that there'll be some relief and you know we just want to sleep in our beds in peace at night.鈥�
Judge O鈥機onnor added in his ruling that MARA can still challenge the results of the election if the Mitchell Bend residents vote to incorporate.
"It's important to recognize that the court did not rule on the merit of the underlying evidence, rather clarify that any challenge must come after the election," said a spokesperson for MARA. "We intend to vigorously defend against any attempt to weaponize local government against law-abiding businesses."
Pablo Arauz Pe帽a is 四虎影院鈥檚 growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo atparauzpena@kera.org.
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