A former Texas state representative has taken legal action against Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare after being physically removed from a public government meeting and subsequently banned from attending future sessions.
Lon Burnam filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Friday against O’Hare and Tarrant County, alleging that his First Amendment rights were violated when he was forcibly ejected from an August 4 Commissioners Court meeting and later barred from returning.
Burnam had signed up as a registered speaker at the meeting and was still within his allotted speaking time when the confrontation occurred. He lifted the microphone and turned toward the audience in a show of solidarity with another speaker who had already been removed from the room.
O’Hare ordered Burnam to put the microphone down. When Burnam continued speaking, the judge directed deputies to remove him from the chamber, citing repeated disruption of the meeting.
Burnam refused to leave on his own and went limp as deputies approached him. Four officers then carried him out of the courtroom by his arms and legs. He was arrested and booked on a Class B misdemeanor charge.
Six days after the incident, Burnam received a criminal trespass warning from the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office. The letter prohibited him from attending any future Commissioners Court meetings and from entering the county Administration Building during scheduled or active meetings.
The lawsuit argues that Burnam was not removed for disrupting the meeting but rather for criticizing O’Hare, opposing a proposal to reduce the number of polling locations for the midterm elections and expressing support for the earlier speaker who had been escorted out.
Burnam’s legal filing also holds Tarrant County responsible, contending that the county’s Rules of Decorum and the broad authority granted to O’Hare have created a pattern of silencing and removing residents who publicly criticize county leadership.
The case is classified as a civil rights lawsuit in federal court and names both O’Hare and Tarrant County as defendants. O’Hare has not publicly responded to the lawsuit.