The commissioners courtroom\u2019s rules of decorum prohibit certain types of speech and expression, such as personal attacks or \u201cdisruptive remarks or actions of approval or disapproval from the audience.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, key to enforcing meeting rules is whether a meeting is in session, said Aleshire, a former county judge himself<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cSpeaking in a public place when there\u2019s no meeting going on to interrupt \u2014 absolutely, that\u2019s just free speech,\u201d he said. Aleshire served as Travis County judge for more than a decade and said he never banned anyone from attending commissioners meetings despite facing his fair share of criticism.\u00a0<\/p>\n O\u2019Hare did not return calls seeking comment.<\/p>\n During the meeting, he told attendees and commissioners they \u201chave every right\u201d to disagree with the rules of decorum, but they must follow them. He warned that if anyone had \u201canother outburst,\u201d he\u2019d have deputies \u201cclear the entire room except for court members, their staffs and county employees. And we\u2019ll bring in speakers one at a time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Sheriff\u2019s deputies may remove attendees who pose a \u201cthreat to public safety,\u201d but otherwise do not initiate meeting removals on their own, said Laurie Passman, director of public information for the Tarrant County Sheriff\u2019s Office.\u00a0<\/p>\n She deferred questions about Tuesday\u2019s removals to O\u2019Hare\u2019s office as decisions about decorum and removal are \u201cmade by the court,\u201d she wrote in an email to the Report.\u00a0<\/p>\n The judge\u2019s chief of staff said O\u2019Hare would not return messages left by media on his personal cell and referred questions to his spokesperson, who did not return messages.<\/p>\n Commissioners meeting marked by chaos<\/p>\n The commissioners\u2019 courtroom was full most of Tuesday as residents trickled in and out to speak in opposition to a grant proposal that would support the county sheriff\u2019s partnership<\/a> with federal immigration officials. About 20 people spoke in opposition to amending the court\u2019s rules to give residents less time to speak<\/a> and restrict public briefings on legal issues such as deaths in the county jail.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fine was the first attendee removed.\u00a0<\/p>\n He interrupted the meeting by yelling, \u201cTell that to Renee Good,\u201d after O\u2019Hare spoke in favor of the ICE partnership on the basis that it makes Tarrant County safer. Good is one of several American citizens killed by ICE agents in recent months amid protests across the country against federal immigration enforcement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fine continued yelling from the audience until deputies removed him at O\u2019Hare\u2019s instructions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Outbursts such as Fine\u2019s aren\u2019t legally protected since he caused a disruption speaking outside the portion of the meeting set aside to hear from the public, said Aaron Terr, public advocacy director for the Philadelphia-based nonpartisan nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fine acknowledged in a phone interview that he violated the rules of decorum, and it was appropriate that he was removed from the meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n He explained that he had missed the deadline to register to speak at the meeting but felt compelled to say something against the ICE partnership because \u201ccivil disobedience is the most sincere form of patriotism.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not a paid agitator. I\u2019m just a pissed-off old Navy vet, and I don\u2019t like to see the Constitution I swore an oath to being trampled upon, and people\u2019s rights being abused,\u201d Fine said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Both Fine and Carrion were issued criminal trespass warnings and told the Fort Worth Report they were advised that they will receive notices in the mail of a one-year ban from the commissioners courtroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n After Fine was removed, O\u2019Hare called a meeting recess to end an argument with Commissioner Alisa Simmons, who is seeking the Democratic nomination in the March primary election to challenge O\u2019Hare for the county judge seat in November.\u00a0<\/p>\n Carrion, who was seated in the audience, called the county judge \u201csmall,\u201d then twice called out, \u201cO\u2019Hare we go again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n O\u2019Hare briefly reprimanded Carrion from the dais and warned him he would be removed, while Carrion replied that his right to free speech allowed him to speak during the meeting recess. Moments later, several deputies escorted Carrion out of the courtroom as other attendees yelled \u201cshame\u201d at them.\u00a0<\/p>\n Later in the meeting, Simmons questioned why Carrion was removed during a recess. She noted that official business is \u201cpaused\u201d during meeting recesses.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile decorum is always important, enforcement actions taken outside of active proceedings \u2014 those raise concerns about consistency and due process,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The state\u2019s 2026 handbook on the Open Meetings Act<\/a> states that a government body\u2019s rules of decorum \u201cmay not unfairly discriminate among speakers for or against a particular point of view.\u201d It also outlines that \u201ca governmental body may not prohibit public criticism of the governmental body, including criticism of any act, omission, policy, procedure, program or service,\u201d except criticism otherwise prohibited by law.<\/p>\n Simmons asked county attorney Mark Kratovil whether the removal was consistent with the court\u2019s adopted rules.\u00a0<\/p>\n O\u2019Hare instructed Kratovil not to give \u201clegal advice\u201d during the meeting and overruled Simmons\u2019 request, which Kratovil explained in the meeting that O\u2019Hare has authority to do. Simmons appealed the decision, which required a majority vote of the court, and the GOP members rejected it. Kratovil did not return a request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Carrion\u2019s criticism of O\u2019Hare during the recess is protected speech as the Texas Open Meetings Act \u201cforbids the Commissioners Court from prohibiting criticism of themselves,\u201d said Nina Oishi, an attorney with Texas Civil Rights Project.\u00a0<\/p>\n She stressed that the criminal trespass warnings issued to Carrion and Fine are \u201cvery unusual\u201d and \u201cextremely severe\u201d compared to other county governments.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody should be extremely shocked by that,\u201d Oishi said. \u201cPeople need to know that this is what their elected officials are doing, and this is what their elected officials think of their right to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n Throughout the meeting, O\u2019Hare repeatedly warned attendees speaking out in the audience that they might be removed.\u00a0<\/p>\n He spoke in favor of a vote to adopt stricter meeting rules<\/a>, telling attendees that both citizens and county staff have asked him to \u201cdo something about decorum in the courtroom.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Over the past year, several attendees have been removed from commissioners meetings, with some criminally charged<\/a>, for clapping, swearing or criticizing the court. In 2024, O\u2019Hare announced he was doubling down<\/a> on meeting rules, warning that people would be removed for speaking over their time limits.\u00a0<\/p>\n Residents still have opportunities to speak at meetings, O\u2019Hare said, and he was hopeful the rules would address disruptions.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPolitical theater simply does not help people,\u201d O\u2019Hare said.<\/p>\n Montalvo was escorted out of the courtroom for repeatedly saying \u201cfascist\u201d after O\u2019Hare called another meeting recess to end an argument with Simmons. Montalvo told the Report deputies let him leave without a criminal trespass warning.\u00a0<\/p>\n In December, both Montalvo and Carrion were removed from a Fort Worth City Council meeting<\/a> they attended to criticize changes in the council\u2019s meeting schedule that gave residents fewer chances to speak. City marshals instructed Carrion to leave after he shouted from the audience, then made Montalvo leave as well when he asked why Carrion was being removed.\u00a0<\/p>\n Their removals for speaking during the commissioners\u2019 recesses indicate O\u2019Hare wants control in the courtroom as community activists seek accountability and access at public meetings, Montalvo and Carrion said.<\/p>\n \u201cJudge Tim O\u2019Hare\u2019s gloves are off,\u201d Carrion said. \u201cHe is swinging as hard as he can against the people.\u201d<\/p>\n To Fine, the trespass warning is a badge of honor. He even framed it the next day, which was his birthday.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRaising my flag of civil disobedience was my birthday present,\u201d Fine said. \u201cWhen I\u2019m dead and gone, my grandkids can say, \u2018Hey, my granddaddy, he raised some hell on his way out.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0210-ComissionersCourt-MC-07-1024x683.jpg\")
Tarrant County Judge Tim O\u2019Hare at the Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting Feb. 10, 2026, in Fort Worth. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Lenzen-CommissionersRule-3-2-1024x683.jpg\")
Doyle Fine, Fort Worth resident and Navy veteran, is removed from the Tarrant County Commissioners Court on Feb. 10, 2026, in Fort Worth. Fine stood and told County Judge Tim O\u2019Hare to, \u201cTell that to Renee Good,\u201d when discussing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Tarrant County. (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"(Maria](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0210-ComissionersCourt-MC-06-1024x683.jpg\")
Commissioner Alisa Simmons listens during a Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting Feb. 10, 2026, in Fort Worth. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Lenzen-CommissionersRule-1-1-1024x682.jpg\")
Fort Worth resident Alexander Montalvo is removed from the Tarrant County Commissioners Court on Feb. 10, 2026, in Fort Worth. Montalvo said the word \u201cfascist\u201d after County Judge Tim O\u2019Hare called a recess. (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n