HOUSTON, Texas (KBTX) – Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo was escorted out of NRG Stadium during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo\u2019s sold-out Megan Moroney concert on March 10, setting off a two-day public feud that ended Thursday when HLSR voted to strip her of her Ex-Officio Director status. <\/p>\n
Hidalgo said she was grabbed, shoved, and threatened with arrest by rodeo security. The rodeo said she tried to access a premium area without the required ticket.<\/p>\n
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is one of the largest events of its kind in the world, generating a major economic impact for the Houston region and awarding millions of dollars in scholarships to Texas students annually.<\/p>\n
Harris County owns NRG Stadium and leases it to HLSR. As county judge, Hidalgo held the title of Ex-Officio Director of the Rodeo \u2014 a role she cited as the basis for her belief that she had access to the event\u2019s premium \u201cdirt\u201d area, also known as the chute seats, which are priced at $425 each.<\/p>\n
What Hidalgo said happened<\/p>\n
Hidalgo said she attended the concert with several guests, including a fellow elected official and her two children, and the parents of recently deceased U.S. Air Force First Sgt. David Saravia, who died Dec. 31 at age 29. The Saravia family is also parents of an active-duty military service member. Hidalgo said it was the first public event the family had attended since their son\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
When she attempted to enter the chute area, rodeo staff told her she needed a wristband \u2014 something she said had never been required of her before.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have always been allowed on the dirt based on the county\u2019s relationship with the rodeo, regardless of wristband,\u201d Hidalgo wrote in a letter to HLSR Chairwoman Pat Mann Phillips and President\/CEO Chris Boleman. \u201cNobody has ever told me I needed a special pass to access the dirt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hidalgo said staff then blocked her guests, grabbed and shoved her, and threatened her with arrest. She offered to leave if her guests could stay, but said the rodeo removed them anyway, including Saravia\u2019s parents, who were located in the dirt area and escorted out before the show ended.<\/p>\n
She also described a moment when a man heckled one of the children. When the child\u2019s mother asked a rodeo official to intervene, Hidalgo wrote the official responded: \u201cWell, I told you to leave\u201d \u2014 a request, she noted, that had never been made of the mother or children.<\/p>\n
In social media posts, Hidalgo identified John Presley as the HLSR head of security and said he escorted her out of the stadium and to her vehicle.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this is how they treat me \u2014 the Ex-Officio Director of the rodeo, landlord, because NRG Stadium belongs to Harris County \u2014 how do they treat everybody else?\u201d she wrote on Facebook.<\/p>\n
What the rodeo said<\/p>\n
HLSR\u2019s initial statement said Hidalgo \u201cattempted to access the dirt area without a valid chute seat ticket\u201d and that her group \u201cwas directed back to their ticketed seating.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to KPRC 2, HLSR officials were notified of Hidalgo\u2019s plans to attend on March 10<\/a> \u2014 the same day as the concert. Because the show was sold out, officials informed her she could not receive chute wristbands<\/a> and would need to use her suite tickets.<\/p>\n In an updated statement Thursday<\/a>, signed by Phillips and Boleman, HLSR wrote: \u201cWe have paying guests who invest in [the chute seat] experience, and our volunteers and staff work hard to ensure those guests receive what they paid for.\u201d<\/p>\n According to KPRC 2, Hidalgo had been gifted 21 chute tickets during the 2026 rodeo season<\/a> \u2014 valued at nearly $9,000 \u2014 and had attended three prior concerts: J Balvin, Forrest Frank, and Luke Bryan. She is also the only elected official to have requested chute tickets during the 2026 HLSR season<\/a>, according to KPRC 2. <\/p>\n Recordings released<\/p>\n Late Wednesday, Hidalgo released two videos and two audio recordings of the incident on social media, in which she can be heard pleading with security not to remove the children from the venue.<\/p>\n Thursday afternoon, she posted that she had received security footage from the rodeo but had not found \u201cany relevant footage.\u201d Shortly after, she announced HLSR had voted to revoke her Ex-Officio Director status \u2014 the very role she had cited as the basis for her access.<\/p>\n The Houston Police Officers\u2019 Union also weighed in, posting a satirical AI-generated comic on Facebook depicting a woman resembling Hidalgo being led away from the rodeo by an officer. <\/p>\n Below are each of Hidalgo\u2019s social media posts.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next<\/p>\n Hidalgo has requested full security footage from the night, including footage from the chute area, the suite, and her escort out of the stadium. She expressed concern about missing angles or timestamps.<\/p>\n As of Thursday, HLSR had not publicly addressed Hidalgo\u2019s specific allegations regarding the treatment of the Saravia family or the children.<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 KBTX. 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