‘Credible threats’ made against Tarrant County commissioners prompt heavy security
Tarrant County commissioners have been the target of “credible threats” to their safety, prompting a heavy law enforcement presence during a public meeting Tuesday.
Over a dozen sheriff’s deputies ushered people through metal detectors and searched bags outside of a meeting room at the county administration building. Commissioner Manny Ramirez of Precinct 4 spoke of the threats at the meeting’s start, but officials have not revealed specific details.
“That’s inappropriate in any form or fashion, and so we’ll take those threats seriously,” Ramirez said. “We may not always agree on policy, and that’s okay, because everybody up here has more in common than they have difference.”
A county spokesperson, Regina Calderon, said in an emailed statement that “heightened security measures were implemented for everyone’s safety and to minimize the disruption of Commissioners Court proceedings.”
The previous two commissioners court meetings have been marked by disorder, outbursts, removals and arrests as a group demanding accountability for a jail death in December has criticized county government.
Tensions boiled over into scuffles at the Jan. 14 meeting when open-carry firearms advocate Christopher “C.J.” Grisham argued with deputies over his right to carry the pistol holstered on his hip in the court.
Grisham, a retired federal counterintelligence special agent, said that he had the right to carry due to his status as a former law enforcement officer. Sheriff’s deputies detained him in handcuffs for around 40 minutes, he said, before allowing him to leave the premises.
He cited federal law that classifies him as a former federal law enforcement officer and state law exempting those classified as such from prohibitions on firearms in government buildings.
Self-described police watcher Manuel Mata was arrested during the altercation after filming deputies and shouting demands for their names and badge numbers.
Grisham has demanded hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages for himself and Mata as a result of their detentions. He plans to sue the county if his demands are not met by Feb. 14.
Grisham, of Temple, told the Star-Telegram ahead of Tuesday’s meeting that he did not plan on attending.
“I’ll let the lawsuit speak for me when I’m ready to file,” he said in a text message.
Disorder again ensued at the Jan. 28 commissioners court meeting, as the court approved a new decorum policy amid opposition from Democrats on the court and several Tarrant County residents who spoke out on the change.
UT Arlington professor Charlie Hermes was removed from both January meetings after receiving warnings from County Judge Tim O’Hare for shouting and clapping during the sessions.
Grisham was once again removed after cursing during his public comments. Fort Worth resident and self-described police watcher Carolyn Rodriguez was removed after Grisham when she listed off several expletives that she said she had the right to say in public meetings.
‘That is not helpful to the community’
In his comments to the court, Ramirez defended the commissioners from the criticism of those who have been removed for breaking decorum and said such actions undermine calls for accountability brought by the families of people who have died in the jail.
“Speaking about issues that we’re not fully informed about, investigations that are ongoing, that is not helpful to the family members of folks that are subject to those investigations, that is not helpful to the community at large,” Ramirez said.
The families of inmates Anthony Johnson Jr., Chastity Bonner, Trelynn Wormley, Mason Yancy and others have demanded more information from commissioners and the Sheriff’s Office regarding the circumstances of their deaths.
They and their attorneys accuse the Sheriff’s Office of stalling the investigations to wait out the two-year statute of limitations on filing wrongful death lawsuits.
A sheriff’s spokesperson said in a statement the department will not provide specifics about the threats due to safety concerns.
“Any threat of violence aimed at County personnel and/or elected officials will be investigated and those responsible will be prosecuted,” the statement read. “We can have disagreements on policy or politics, but threats against our civil servants crosses the line.”
Johnson’s family has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the county and the 15 jailers involved in the altercation that resulted in his death in April 2024. Two of the jailers face murder charges.
Johnson’s sister Janell Johnson noted in her comments to commissioners that the heightened security measures were implemented in a matter of weeks after their security was threatened.
“You notice that there’s a metal detector outside, because you guys’ lives were threatened, just like that,” Johnson said. “That rule changed within two weeks.”
She was removed from the court last June after demanding O’Hare look at her as she spoke.
O’Hare has also removed people for speaking for eight seconds longer than the three-minute time limit and for approaching him to ask a question after a meeting was adjourned.
Other measures implemented include electric locks on doors leading to halls and offices behind the commissioners court and an extra wall and door to stop unauthorized entry to commissioners’ offices. The added door with an electric lock allows the court to use the deputy that used to guard that corner of the hallway in other parts of the new security strategy, Chief Deputy Craig Driskell said.
The department faces a huge staffing shortage, and it has had to pull deputies from other teams, such as SWAT, in order to secure the commissioners court, Driskell said.
Fort Worth City Hall and county criminal courts already implement similar security measures.
This story was originally published February 4, 2025 at 1:03 PM.
