Harris Co. Judge Lina Hidalgo posts recordings from night of Houston rodeo incident

HOUSTON - Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo posted video and audio recordings from the Tuesday night incident at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo after she was reportedly escorted out of the concert.

Hidalgo shared the two videos and two recordings to her Facebook and Instagram account. In her caption, Hidalgo claims, "This is not about a wristband or a ticket or a concert. It is about the mentality of some people and the way they treat others."

Harris County judge responds to rodeo incident

What they're saying:

Hidalgo writes in the description of the four videos, in part:

Here are the receipts. I’m adding two videos and two recordings to Instagram. This is not about a wristband or a ticket or a concert. It is about the mentality of some people and the way they treat others.

Please look at the post also where I have the letter I sent to the chairman and to the director of the rodeo. Since I sent that letter, I learned that not only did they pull the two children that came with me out of their assigned seats during their favorite song, as they asked to stay, but they also pulled my other two guests— the parents of U.S. Airforce First Sargeant David Saravia who died January 31 at 29 years old. They are also the parents of an active duty military member. This was the first event the parents had attended since First Sargeant Saravia’s death. They went and found them in the dirt and yanked them out before the show ended. This was all against my request.

I have requested the security footage of everything that transpired last night, from every angle, of any time I was in or near the chute, of when they pulled the little kids out of the suite, of when they escorted me out of Harris County Stadium. I was promised the footage in the morning tomorrow Thursday. I hope it is provided, without funny business in terms of missing or blocked angles or important time stamps.

This recording is of when several men from the rodeo were escorting me out of the Harris County Stadium. And I was pleading with them not to pull the children out, which they ultimately had happen.

If this is how they treat me — by virtue of my position the Ex-Officio Director of the rodeo, landlord, because NRG stadium belongs to Harris County and leases to the rodeo, how do they treat everybody else?

RODEOHOUSTON's statement to the incident

The other side:

On Thursday, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo released a response signed by Chairwoman of the Board Pat Mann Phillips and President and CEO Chris Boleman:

"Judge Lina Hidalgo has attended the 2026 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on three occasions prior to March 10, each time with wristbands provided by the Rodeo for her and her guests to watch from the chute seats. In total, 21 tickets were provided to her across those visits, including for the J Balvin, [Dwight Yoakam] and Luke Bryan concerts with a total value of close to $9,000.

Chute seats are among the most premium experiences at RODEOHOUSTON, with tickets priced at approximately $425 each. Many guests purchase these seats specifically for the opportunity to be close to the action on the dirt and enjoy a special evening at the Rodeo. We have paying guests who invest in that experience, and our volunteers and staff work hard to ensure those guests receive what they paid for. Tickets at any level have not been requested by any other elected official in Houston or Harris County this year.

On March 10 we received information that the Judge wanted to attend the Megan Moroney concert, along with Creed, Chris Stapleton and Shaboozey concerts, all on the dirt.
Because the Megan Moroney concert was sold out and she’d already had chute seats several times prior, we had multiple conversations with members of her team and the
Houston County Sports and Convention Corporation informing them that she did not have wristbands and was not authorized to access the dirt or chute area that evening. She was aware of this prior to arriving and did not have the required wristbands to enter the area.

Despite that, Judge Hidalgo attempted to access the dirt area with guests who also did not have credentials or wristbands. She did have access to suite tickets that evening and was asked to return to her suite where she and her guests had tickets for the event. Our team respectfully addressed the situation, but the interaction became difficult for staff and security. There were numerous law enforcement officers who were present and none saw any physical harm including "manhandling". Ultimately when she would not go back to her designated seats in the suite, she was escorted out.

We are very disappointed in Judge Hidalgo’s actions Tuesday night and since. But we must enforce the same access policies for everyone. 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.

We want to thank our Gatekeepers volunteer committee and law enforcement for the professionalism they showed in handling this situation. These volunteers and first
responders generously commit their time to support the Rodeo and help ensure that policies are followed so every guest can enjoy the event.

As a family-friendly Houston event with millions of visitors each year, we are committed to providing a welcoming experience to the entire community. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is committing $30 million to Texas youth and education in 2026 alone, with a total commitment of more than $660 million. We look forward to a busy week ahead and nine incredible days of Rodeo still to come."

Online criticism to incident

The Houston Police Officers’ Union posted an illustration they dubbed "satire" showing a woman, resembling the county judge, being escorted by the arm by a law enforcement officer as she says, "I’m the County Judge".

The union captioned the post, "Disclaimer: Satire. Any resemblance to real persons, actual events from last night, elected officials, or people who believe the rules don’t apply to them is purely coincidental. #HarrisCountyDeservesBetter #YouCantSitThere"

Lina Hidalgo's shares letter

Judge Hidalgo posted her letter on Wednesday to RODEOHOUSTON leadership about the matter on social media.

In summary, the county judge said she had previously been allowed on the dirt without a wristband "based on the county's relationship with the rodeo." 

The county judge says she was at the concert with another elected official, the official's children, and the parents of a US Air Force sergeant who recently passed away.

She claimed she was shoved by rodeo committee members to leave the dirt, and the other official and her kids were removed.