{"id":204387,"date":"2026-03-14T09:57:29","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T09:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/204387\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T09:57:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T09:57:29","slug":"texas-judge-lina-hidalgo-who-played-victim-card-kicked-out-of-rodeo-for-second-time-in-vip-concert-seating-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/204387\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Judge Lina Hidalgo who played victim card kicked out of rodeo for second time in VIP concert seating scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"

The judge who oversees the administration of Texas\u2019 largest county was escorted out of a popular rodeo venue Thursday for a second time after holding a news conference that was sparked by her removal\u00a0from a concert\u00a0earlier this week<\/a> after attempting to access a VIP seating area without tickets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo held a brief news conference outside NRG Stadium, where she attempted to secure security camera footage of the incident, before she was once again escorted out of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo<\/a> grounds, as she was Tuesday night, the Houston Chronicle reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The judge was escorted to her vehicle by a police detail Thursday after a rodeo spokesperson said she didn\u2019t have access to the rodeo grounds and was only permitted to briefly address reporters, the newspaper reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s removal came after Hidalgo was escorted from the venue while attending a Megan Moroney concert while trying to access a premium seating area, despite not having tickets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hidalgo has since had her \u201cex-officio director\u201d status removed by the Rodeo Houston executive committee, meaning she will have to pay to access rodeo grounds like everyone else, a spokesperson told Fox News Digital.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Texas judge Lina Hidalgo was escorted out of Houston\u2019s Livestock Show and Rodeo for a second time. Houston Chronicle via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The move came after Hidalgo posted video and audio clips<\/a> and a letter to rodeo leaders about what unfolded Tuesday night. <\/p>\n

She said she was manhandled and threatened\u00a0with arrest\u00a0after trying to access the concert\u2019s chute area.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Staffers told her she and her guests could not access the area because wristbands were sold out and that they would have to return to their suite. <\/p>\n

Hidalgo was then asked to leave and escorted out of the venue after being asked several times to return to her seating area, rodeo officials said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rodeo officials are seen preventing Hidalgo from entering the grounds. Lina Hidalgo \/ Facebook<\/p>\n

Rodeo officials deny Hidalgo\u2019s mistreatment claims.<\/p>\n

In a one-page letter to board officials, Hidalgo suggested that her treatment stemmed from her being a Hispanic woman. She claimed that white men have \u201cfelt emboldened to treat others, particularly Hispanics, with physical force.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hidalgo had suggested that her treatment stemmed from her being a Hispanic woman. Houston Chronicle via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t travel without my passport anymore,\u201d she wrote. \u201cMany of us do, especially those of us who are not white-passing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Chairwoman Pat Phillips and Rodeo President Chris Boleman pushed back with their own letter. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Lina Hidalgo attended the 2025 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Instagram\/Lina Hidalgo<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very disappointed in Judge Hidalgo\u2019s actions Tuesday night and since. But we must enforce the same access policies for everyone,\u201d they said. \u201cThe judge is the only elected official to request, even demand, these seats night after night. As Chairwoman of the Board, the idea that she was treated this way because she\u2019s a woman or Hispanic is absolutely false and insulting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shelby Pierson carries an American flag at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on March 2. Houston Chronicle via Getty Images<\/p>\n

In addition, Rodeo officials said Hidalgo requested and was given $9,000 in floor access tickets for herself and her guests for three previous nights for concerts to see J Balvin,\u00a0Dwight Yoakam\u00a0and Luke Bryan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Hidalgo called on officials to install more cameras at NRG Stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t really make things out because it\u2019s very dark and it\u2019s from a distance,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Fox News Digital has reached out to Hidalgo. As the county judge, Hidalgo serves as its chief executive and presiding officer of the Commissioners Court, the county\u2019s governing body, managing a budget over $4 billion.<\/p>\n

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