Judge Lina Hidalgo beefs with the Houston Rodeo
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Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is beefing with Rodeo Houston officials after being kicked out of Tuesday night's Megan Moroney concert for not having the proper credentials.
Why it matters: In series of Facebook posts Tuesday and Wednesday, Hidalgo said she was "manhandled" by rodeo staff and security and questioned whether their response would be the same if she were a man.
Driving the news: Hidalgo, who had suite tickets Tuesday, attempted to gain dirt-level access despite not having the premium "chute" tickets priced at $425, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo officials said in a statement to Chron.
- The rodeo had provided Hidalgo's office with $9,000 worth of floor tickets for the three previous shows, rodeo officials told ABC13, but they were unable to provide floor access for Moroney's performance because it was sold out.
What they're saying: "I have always been allowed on the dirt based on the county's relationship with the rodeo, regardless of wristband," Hidalgo wrote in a public letter Wednesday, saying she was with another elected official and her children, plus other guests.
- Rodeo committee members "then proceeded to block the kids and mom from entering, grabbed me, shoved me, and threatened to arrest me," Hidalgo said.
- "I want [rodeo] leadership to know that constituents of color and women, like me, deserve to be physically safe and to be treated with dignity," Hidalgo wrote. "I hope nobody else experiences behavior like this."
- Hidalgo posted on Facebook Thursday that she had received some security footage from the event but "as of now, we have not found any relevant footage."
The other side: Rodeo officials denied Hidalgo was shoved or threatened with arrest.
- "There were numerous law enforcement officers who were present and none saw any physical harm including 'manhandling,'" Rodeo Houston chairwoman Pat Mann Phillips and president Chris Boleman wrote in a joint letter Thursday, per Click2Houston. "Ultimately, when she would not go back to her designated seats in the suite, she was escorted out."
- "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," Phillips wrote.
Friction point: Hidalgo's outcries sparked responses from political foes as she finishes her final term in office.