A pastor is suing County Judge Tim O’Hare and Tarrant County for its “unconstitutional” rules of decorum that forbid clapping and allow O’Hare to oust audience members.
The case claims Bishop Mark Kirkland, the senior pastor at Greater Saint Mark Ministries in Fort Worth, “suffered injuries and damages for his mental and emotional injury, and for mental anguish, humiliation and embarrassment” and requests the defendants give him $250,000 for punitive damages.
In a Dec. 9 Commissioners Court meeting, Bishop Mark Kirkland was told to sit down because he made a remark chastising the fact that clapping is banned in the commissioners meetings. O’Hare told him his time to speak in public comment would not be fulfilled, and he needed to sit down. After the two argued for about a minute, O’Hare told sheriff’s deputies to remove Kirkland from the room…