A Fort Worth man has been arrested after speaking out at a heated Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting Aug. 4.
Court records show EJ Carrion was arrested early Wednesday morning and charged with disrupting a meeting or procession — a class B misdemeanor.
Community member Alexander Montalvo told KERA News in a phone call he and Carrion were out with other community members Tuesday night before everyone headed home around 2 a.m. Wednesday.
Montalvo and Carrion were talking on the phone when Carrion told him he was being pulled over by Fort Worth Police.
A few minutes later, Montalvo said Carrion called him again and told him he had a warrant out for his arrest from Tarrant County for disrupting a public meeting and was being taken into custody.
Montalvo said a Fort Worth officer confirmed with him that Carrion was pulled over for an alleged traffic violation and discovered he had a warrant issued Monday. The only meeting that occurred before then was commissioners court.
"I think we have seen a much more hostile treatment towards citizens and residents showing up at public government meetings," Montalvo told KERA News. "That hostility definitely has been the strongest within the Tarrant County Commissioners Court."
Carrion is a frequent attendee and speaker at commissioners court meetings. He was among multiple people that were told to be removed from the chambers by County Judge Tim O' Hare during public comments of last Tuesday's meeting.
Carrion had used a profane word twice during his allotted time to speak. Profane, obscene, or slanderous remarks are among several things prohibited during these meetings, according to the Tarrant County Commissioners Court Rules of Decorum.
Dozens of residents spoke out against a proposal that would have cut nearly half of all voting locations for Election Day in November.
The public comment portion ended with O’Hare instructing everyone to leave the room and arresting former state lawmaker Lon Burham.
Critics accused O'Hare and Republican commissioners Manny Ramirez and Matt Krause of coordinating this effort to make it harder for people to vote in this year's midterms.
O'Hare said during the meeting he was not okay with the cuts to voting locations and Ramirez released a statement last Friday proposing the county keep all the same voting locations used during the 2022 midterms. The vote on this has been delayed until next month.
Carrion was still in custody at Tarrant County Jail as of Wednesday afternoon and has a bond set at $600.
Penelope Rivera is KERA's Tarrant County Accountability Reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at privera@kera.org.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
