What gets you banned from Fort Worth City Council meetings? Calling the mayor a slur
The city of Fort Worth has banned two residents from City Council meetings until 2024 for their disruptive behavior during public comment.
The bans are the result of cumulative infractions and disruptions by both men, said city spokesperson Reyne Telles in an email to the Star-Telegram.
“The public deserves to have meetings conducted in an orderly manner, and the conduct of these individuals consistently disrupted the business of the council,” Telles said.
The residents, Bob Willoughby and Adrian Smith, will only be able to participate through phone calls or submitting comments, according to letters sent to both from city manager David Cooke and city attorney Leann Guzman.
Both men attend nearly every city council meeting either in person or virtually. Willoughby has been regularly attending meetings since at least 2015. He’s critical of the city’s code compliance department and of a November 2021 change to the council meeting format.
Willoughby was cited in the letter for repeatedly addressing the audience and city staff instead of the council, which is a violation of the City Council’s rules and procedures. He was also faulted for going off topic instead of speaking about the individual agenda items he’d signed up to speak about.
Willoughby denied that he regularly goes off topic. He said the city cuts him off before he’s made his point. He faulted the city for not giving him a warning before he was banned.
“Mr. Willoughby has consistently disregarded council rules of procedure despite being repeatedly warned about his disruptive conduct,” Telles said.
Smith’s ban goes beyond council meetings. He must make an appointment 24 hours in advance if he has business at City Hall.
He was removed from the Aug. 22 council meeting as he continued to speak after his allotted three minutes expired. After leaving the chamber, Smith could be heard in the hallway calling Mayor Mattie Parker a slur that is demeaning to women.
“I regret allowing myself to get that angry,” Smith said, while adding the ban and the city’s description of his behavior does not paint an accurate picture of his character.
“I’m not doing this for likes or a following. I’m doing this cause it’s in my heart,” he said.
The activist group United My Justice scheduled a rally in support of Willoughby and Smith at 5 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall. The group argues the city’s ban is a violation of the men’s right to free speech.
Cities have the right to make reasonable rules about how people can attend public meetings, said Hannah Bloch-Wehba, an associate law professor at Texas A&M law school.
“The problem a lot of cities are running into is the accusation these rules are being enforced in a non-neutral way,” Bloch-Wehba said.
If cities discriminate against a resident based on that person’s particular view point, that’s not allowed, she said.
However, if a person is being so disruptive that a city can’t conduct regular business, courts give cities a lot more leeway, said Amy Sanders, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s school of journalism and media.
“The First Amendment isn’t a guarantee that you’ll be heard or that people will listen. It’s the right to speak,” she said.
