Texas judge who played victim card booted from rodeo grounds a second time following VIP seating dispute
The judge who oversees the administration of Texas' largest county was escorted out of a popular rodeo venue Thursday for a second time after holding a news conference that was sparked by her removal from a concert earlier this week after attempting to access a VIP seating area without tickets.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo held a brief news conference outside NRG Stadium, where she attempted to secure security camera footage of the incident, before she was once again escorted out of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo grounds, as she was Tuesday night, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The judge was escorted to her vehicle by a police detail Thursday after a rodeo spokesperson said she didn't have access to the rodeo grounds and was only permitted to briefly address reporters, the newspaper reported.
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Thursday's removal came after Hidalgo was escorted from the venue while attending a Megan Moroney concert while trying to access a premium seating area, despite not having tickets.
Hidalgo has since had her "ex-officio director" status removed by the Rodeo Houston executive committee, meaning she will have to pay to access rodeo grounds like everyone else, a spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The move came after Hidalgo posted video and audio clips and a letter to rodeo leaders about what unfolded Tuesday night. She said she was manhandled and threatened with arrest after trying to access the concert's chute area.
Staffers told her she and her guests could not access the area because wristbands were sold out and that they would have to return to their suite. Hidalgo was then asked to leave and escorted out of the venue after being asked several times to return to her seating area, rodeo officials said.
Rodeo officials deny Hidalgo's mistreatment claims.
In a one-page letter to board officials, Hidalgo suggested that her treatment stemmed from her being a Hispanic woman. She claimed that White men have "felt emboldened to treat others, particularly Hispanics, with physical force."
"I don't travel without my passport anymore," she wrote. "Many of us do, especially those of us who are not white-passing."
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Chairwoman Pat Phillips and rodeo President Chris Boleman pushed back with their own letter.
"We are very disappointed in Judge Hidalgo’s actions Tuesday night and since. But we must enforce the same access policies for everyone," they said. "The Judge is the only elected official to request, even demand, these seats night after night. As Chairwoman of the Board, the idea that she was treated this way because she’s a woman or Hispanic is absolutely false and insulting."
In addition, Rodeo officials said Hidalgo requested and was given $9,000 in floor access tickets for herself and her guests for three previous nights for concerts to see J Balvin, Dwight Yoakam and Luke Bryan.
On Thursday, Hidalgo called on officials to install more cameras at NRG Stadium.
"You can't really make things out because it's very dark and it's from a distance," she said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Hidalgo. As the county judge, Hidalgo serves as its chief executive and presiding officer of the Commissioners Court, the county's governing body, managing a budget over $4 billion.