Hood County judge faces criminal complaint of election interference
A Hood County resident who is fighting a crypto mining operation and a proposed power plant near her rural home has filed a criminal complaint against the top official in the county, accusing him of official oppression and election interference.
Cheryl Shadden, who lives about 10 miles from Granbury, said she filed the complaint Wednesday afternoon against County Judge Ron Massingill, accusing him of unlawfully invalidating a petition to incorporate so that it would not be on the Nov. 4 ballot after receiving “direct instruction” from attorneys representing Marathon Digital Holdings, a crypto mining operation. She said reisdents were not notified that he invalidated the petition.
Shadden also filed complaints against Massingill with Attorney General Ken Paxton, the secretary of state, the Texas Rangers and the Department of Justice.
Massingill did not immediately return phone messages seeking comment Wednesday and Thursday.
“You look at us in this rural community. People think we are a bunch of country bumpkins,” Shadden said. “You cannot stomp people into the ground like this. You don’t answer to a conglomerate.”
The residents want a say when it comes to regulating noise and pollution, which is why they want to form a city. If voters approve, the city will be called Mitchell Bend.
The proposal to incorporate the 2-square mile area is now on the Nov. 4 ballot after Mitchell Bend residents submitted a second petition, but Shadden is not backing down.
Shadden said she spent about an hour in the lobby of the Hood County Sheriff’s Office waiting to file her complaint.
The Star-Telegram contacted the Hood County Sheriff’s Office concerning the complaint but did not get a response.
The complaint stems from a years-long struggle from Shadden and other Mitchell Bend residents who said noise and vibration from the Marathon Digital crypto mining operation are causing health issues such as headaches, high blood pressure and hearing loss.
Shadden also described noise and gas valves exploding at two power plants near Marathon. She and her neighbors are also fighting an application to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to allow another plant, Wolf Hollow 3, to locate in the area near Marathon Digital.
The hearing is Aug. 25 in Austin.
Allegations against Massingill
According to the complaint, Massingill signed an order May 2 to place the Mitchell Bend incorporation petition on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Then on Aug. 5, Massingill received a letter from attorneys representing Marathon Digital asking that he “vacate” the order approving the petition because there were questions concerning the factual basis of the petition and whether it met the necessary requirements to move forward with the election.
The letter stated that county attorney Matt Mills and elections administrator Stephanie Cooper were contacted and asked if the information submitted to the Commissioners Court had been independently verified. Mills and Cooper stated that they had not participated in verifying the accuracy of the information in the petition, according to the letter to Massingill.
“We understand the Court relied on representations that the Petition complied with all legal requirements. However, based on our investigation, there appear to be defects on the face of the Petition submitted, including signature deficiencies, inclusion of ineligible territory, and irregularities in the map’s configuration,” according to the letter.
Shadden’s complaint also stated that during the Aug. 12 Commissioners Court meeting, Massingill “admitted that he had unilaterally invalidated the incorporation petition without notice to the applicants the day before (Aug. 11, 2025).
After facing questions, Massingill “re-signed” the first order and signed a second application approving the Nov. 4 incorporation election, according to Shadden’s complaint.
During the Aug. 12 meeting, several Mitchell Bend residents spoke in favor of the incorporation election and said it should be on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Danny Lakey said: “We’re tired of being bulldozed. We’re tired of being bullied. We tired of billion dollar companies coming in and ruining our lives, and we’re getting pretty good at fighting Goliath.”
Massingill told the residents that the elections administrator told him that the number of registered voters “as not met, which is why he vacated the order.
Then, on Aug. 13, Massingill signed the order allowing the election to go forward.
This story was originally published August 21, 2025 at 2:04 PM.