FORT WORTH, Texas — The City of Fort Worth will temporarily prevent two people from attending council meetings because, the city attorney says, the men have repeatedly created distractions and delayed the body's work.
An attorney who specializes in open meetings law says the move is unusual, but conceded it could be necessary to maintain order.
"People have every right to criticize their government and rebel, in a sense," said Bill Aleshire, an attorney who volunteers for the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. "But they cannot do so in a way that interferes in the operation of a meeting."
The city banned Bob Willoughby from attending council meetings held at city hall until January 2024. Adrian Smith is barred from attending council meetings held at city hall until Feb. 22, 2024. Each man will still be able to offer public comment via telephone or by letter.
The city inflicted additional penalties on Smith, who will also have to make an appointment to conduct legitimate business at Fort Worth City Hall. A deputy marshal will escort Smith for the duration of such visits.
"The public deserves to have meetings conducted in an orderly manner, and the conduct of these individuals consistently disrupted the business of the Council," a city spokesperson said to WFAA in a statement Monday.
Letters to each man detail the attorney's reason for their removal.
Archived meeting video reviewed by WFAA shows Willoughby refusing to comply with council rules for attendees.
During six different meetings in 2023, Willoughby struggled to limit his comments to the item on the agenda. He also frequently addresses the audience instead of councilmembers.
"Bite your tongue, will you? I'm not through," Willoughby said sharply to a councilmember during an August meeting.
"You're my target, Mattie," he said in a July meeting. Willoughby told WFAA he meant Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker is his target for removal from office during the next election cycle.
The city attorney also noted that councilmembers have called for "points of order" during Willoughby's testimony five different times this year. These motions allow the chair to determine when rules are broken, effectively serving as a verbal warning to people offering testimony.
The letter noted the current and former city attorney each wrote to Willoughby, warning about his behavior, before his punishment.
"Our actions would not be our actions if it wasn't for their actions triggering what's happening," Willoughby told WFAA Monday.
The mayor ejected Smith from an August meeting. Law enforcement escorted him out of the building, but he returned to the chambers later. The city issued Smith a criminal trespass notice.
Each time the man was escorted out, video cameras caught him yelling in the hallway.
Smith was also escorted out of another meeting in August, forcing the mayor to temporarily pause business until he stopped yelling.
"City staff has demonstrated great restraint not to arrest you for your disruptions," the letter to Smith reads.
Willoughby told WFAA he'd be more willing to follow the council's rules if they reinstated a policy allowing members of the public to discuss whatever they want for three minutes during each meeting. Right now, those public presentations are only allowed during one meeting each month.
"We have a right to speak on agenda items, but we don't have the three free minutes to speak on what we want," he said.
Willoughby also contends he should be allowed to defend his behavior in a trial-like setting.
"If we're going to justify banning someone, it must be done publicly and with both sides being heard," he said. "This is one-sided."
Each man will participate in a 5 p.m. press conference outside city hall Tuesday, Aug. 29.
The city attorney's office will not allow either man to appeal their punishments. A spokesperson did not know whether the city had ever before banned members of the public from attending meetings in such a fashion.
Aleshire noted that the men will still be allowed to remotely participate in meetings, a punishment "far less harsh" than telling them they can't speak at all.
"We must be careful," he said. "If we abuse these transparency statutes, the legislature is watching."
