Residents spoke forcefully and tearfully Tuesday night as they took to City Hall to air grievances and call for unity from Fort Worth City Council members in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death.
During the council’s Sept. 23 public comment meeting, a dozen of the 21 speakers criticized Mayor Mattie Parker for a statement she issued earlier this month condemning Elizabeth Beck for a social media post the council member made shortly after news of Kirk’s shooting broke.
Four speakers criticized Beck for her post, and three of those also denounced council member Chris Nettles, who previously defended Beck. The other five registered speakers either addressed all council members or discussed unrelated concerns.
Fort Worth resident Ken Shimamoto, who spoke against Parker, said the mayor should be mindful of her words.
“Words have meanings. Actions have consequences,” Shimamoto said. “It is important that all of you own yours.”
Jim DeLong, founder of the Christian ministry Changing Your City, told the council that young people look to the city’s leaders “and hear you and make decisions about life because of what you say, and we look to you to set a high bar, a high standard.”
Paige Wallace spoke against Beck and Nettles, calling them soulless and saying they should be publicly shamed for their comments on Kirk.
“One of the best parts of social media is that it shows you who people really are,” Wallace said. “The hate-filled leftists can’t help but to post every thought they have online, exposing how they truly feel about people who don’t agree with them.”
One audience member laughed as Wallace returned to her seat, prompting the speaker to clap back at them. Parker told the audience member to “just try to be quiet.”
After the meeting, Parker declined to comment to the Fort Worth Report. Beck said in a phone interview that “as a veteran and a lawyer, I have the utmost respect for the First Amendment.”
“For the most part, what you saw this evening was civil discourse, which was healthy,” Beck added.
Throughout the roughly hourlong meeting, Democratic Party activists accused Parker of practicing a double standard, promoting political violence against her Democratic colleagues and enabling extremism.
The council concluded the meeting without addressing or responding to speakers. While most remarks passed without disruption, a handful prompted shouting, laughing or arguments from the audience.
Shimamoto criticized Parker for issuing a statement about Beck’s post but saying nothing about what he sees as calls for political violence from Tarrant County GOP chairman Bo French.
Shimamoto referenced a social media post French made in June that said violent protests could be easily taken care of by “a few well-placed snipers.” French’s post, now apparently deleted, came five days before local activists organized a “No Kings” rally in downtown Fort Worth to protest President Donald Trump’s administration.
In June, Parker joined other Republican officials, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, in criticizing French for “bigotry” against Jewish and Muslim people in a social media post.
Council members Macy Hill, Charles Lauersdorf and Jeanette Martinez did not attend the public comment meeting.
One speaker, Alex Stein, a conservative comedian, was removed from the meeting after shouting and yelling profanities.
The day that Kirk, the founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was fatally shot, Beck posted on her personal social media a screenshot of a 2023 Newsweek headline that read, “Charlie Kirk says gun deaths ‘unfortunately’ worth it to keep the 2nd Amendment.” The post, which Beck deleted after he was confirmed dead, included the word “unfortunate” superimposed on a photo of Kirk.
The post drove partisan infighting among City Council members and stirred outrage among political activists, including French and members of the local GOP. Parker issued a statement, accusing an unnamed council colleague of “essentially condoning violence because of someone’s political views.”
Beck later clarified her stance on Kirk’s death and explicitly condemned political violence. At the time, Nettles defended Beck and condemned Parker for her statement.
Over the weekend, Republican activists and officials hosted a march and rally in downtown Fort Worth to honor Kirk.
During the Tuesday meeting, Fort Worth resident Eddie Delgado referenced the rally and an instance where one speaker ripped an LGBTQ Pride flag in half after describing it as “societal decay, corrosion, suicide, murder, hate.” He unfurled a Pride flag before the council.
“It represents progress (and) unity and includes representation of people of color,” he said of the flag.
After denouncing Parker for not publicly addressing the ripping of the Pride flag outside the county courthouse, Delgado proposed that the mayor and the council proclaim the week of Oct. 14-21 as “a week that Fort Worth stands up against violence.”
Other speakers decried political divisions and called broadly for unity.
After the meeting, Nettles told the Report it’s incumbent on Parker to work to unify Fort Worth residents on both sides of the political aisle after the backlash over Kirk’s death. He’s willing to help lead that path forward, but he believes the mayor has both the influence and the responsibility to do so.
“That leadership, really when you talk about the city, it’s a burden on all of the elected officials here, but it’s a true burden on the mayor of the city of Fort Worth to push that unity,” Nettles said.
Earlier in the day, council members discussed the 2026 meeting schedule, which included 10 public comment meetings, instead of this year’s scheduled 15.
Nettles criticized the reduction, saying it’s the second time he’s seen it reduced.
“With the discussion as we talk about freedom of speech and the right to talk about how we feel, we need to make sure we continue to be a city that is open to hear the concerns of our residents,” he said.
Cecilia Lenzen and Drew Shaw are government accountability reporters for the Fort Worth Report. Contact them at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org and drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org.
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