The three men trying to remove Tarrant County District Clerk Thomas "Tom" Wilder have many things in common.
They are all involved in years-long divorce or child support battles. They are filing pro se — meaning without a lawyer. And they all feel they have been wronged by the justice system, particularly by family courts.
They are trying to remove Wilder, a Republican, using Chapter 87 of the Texas Local Government Code, which allows for the removal of certain public officials when they've shown misconduct or incompetency. The law allows a citizen to ask a judge to approve a jury trial on whether to remove the official.
Jose Portalatin filed his case in June against Wilder. Portalatin lives in Arlington and is author of "Dirty Tricks Attorneys Don’t Want You to Know About Exposing the Tactics That Tilt the Scales of Justice." He argued Wilder wrongly blocked his submission of certain documents — like text messages and photos — to his divorce court case.
Wilder told Portalatin the judge did not want those documents included and he would need to meet with the court coordinator.
"Therefore, you were never denied access to the court as you allege. You just didn't want to do it the way the judge wanted," Wilder wrote to Portalatin in an April 21 email, according to court documents.
Portalatin said he can only think the clerk's office is trying to manipulate the outcome of his hearing.
A man on a mission
Lewis Brooks McKenzie joined Portalatin in filing the case. McKenzie has been in a divorce case since 2018 and has since become an advocate for dismantling family courts.
"My sole purpose in life is to come to Tarrant County and absolutely destroy the court system here," he told KERA News. "Because once I do that, I'll be able to do that across the nation."
He operates "Molae Ministeria," which McKenzie said is a group with the goal to "completely and utterly destroy the Texas family court system, to lock up criminal officials, including judges, and to dismantle (...) Child Protective Services and Texas Department of Family and Protective Services."
The organization's website uses bright, pulsing neon colors and uses terms like "Baba-Yaga" and "The Magic Bus Driver" to refer to McKenzie. He explained he drives the Magic Bus, what he calls his car, to courts across Texas to deliver criminal affidavits against judges and public officials on behalf of other people. He said Baba-Yaga is a reference to the main character in the movie "John Wick" who goes after bad guys.
McKenzie said he's constantly speaking at conservative events and has become well connected within Texas politics. He's listed as a Tarrant County Republican Precinct Chair representing West Arlington.
A Southlake man joins the fray
Conghua "Arnold" Yan — who has also been in a divorce case for years — filed a petition for removal of Wilder on Aug. 4, claiming the clerk had mislabeled, disorganized and deleted his files when they were transferred to a new court.
This isn't Yan's first time filing a pro se suit against a Tarrant County official.
Yan filed a federal lawsuit against The State Bar of Texas, Tarrant County, U.S. Bank and various other lawyers and county judges, accusing them of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act — or RICO, which has historically been used against criminal organizations. His allegations against these groups stem from his belief they interfered in his divorce case. U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman dismissed the case and barred Yan from continuing to file certain motions against the groups.
"(Yan’s) Motion repeatedly blurs the line between a legal pleading and a manifesto of grievances," Pittman wrote.
Yan is appealing the dismissal in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Wilder dismisses complaints
Wilder told KERA News in an email those suing are a group of "disgruntled court litigants who are refusing to pay child support and/or legislatively mandated fees."
"There is no merit to these claims, and we will vigorously defend against them," he said.
The Tarrant County Commissioners Court voted 4-1 to hire legal defense for Wilder in the case against Portalatin and McKenzie. Commissioner Alisa Simmons, a Democrat, was the lone dissenting vote. Wilder's lawyer will be paid $400 an hour with the total cost not to exceed $30,000.
Dylan Duke is KERA's summer 2025 SPJ news intern. Got a tip? Email Dylan Duke at dduke@kera.org.
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