Houston Rodeo responds to Harris Co. Judge Lina Hidalgo's claims of 'manhandling' at concert

HOUSTON - The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo released a response on Thursday after Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo claimed that she was "manhandled" and escorted out of Tuesday night’s Megan Maroney concert.

The backstory:

Hidalgo says she tried to access the chute ticket area with another elected official, her two children and the parents of a deceased military member. She says that despite being allowed to enter the area in the past, she was told she couldn’t enter because she didn’t have a wristband.

She claimed that rodeo committee members "grabbed" her, "shoved" her and threatened to arrest her. She says she was then escorted out of the stadium.

MORE: Judge Lina Hidalgo posts recordings from Houston rodeo incident

The judge later shared on social media that the RODEOHOUSTON Executive Committee voted to revoke her status as Ex-Officio Director.

The other side:

In a response on Thursday, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo officials said she had been given wristbands for her and guests to watch three other concerts from the chute seats this rodeo season. They say she was provided with 21 tickets across those three visits, with a value of close to $9,000.

The rodeo says because Tuesday night’s concert was sold out, they notified her team that she would not have wristbands and would not be authorized to access the chute area that evening.

When she would not go back to the suite where she had tickets, she was escorted out, rodeo officials say. They denied her claims of "manhandling."

Read the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s and Lina Hidalgo’s responses in full below.

Harris County judge responds to rodeo incident

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo released the following letter on her Facebook page on Wednesday directed at Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Chairwoman of the Board Pat Mann Phillips and President and CEO Chris Boleman:

"Dear Chairman Phillips and Mr. Boleman,

Last night, I tried to bring a fellow elected official, her two children, and the parents of recently deceased U.S. Air Force First Sergeant David Saravia to the Houston rodeo performance. They are also the parents of an active duty military service member.

When I tried to walk onto the chute ticket area ("the dirt"), as I have always done, including earlier this week, rodeo committee members told me we weren’t able to enter because I didn’t have a wristband. I have always been allowed on the dirt based on the county’s relationship with the rodeo, regardless of wristband. Nobody has ever told me I needed a special pass to access the dirt. I don’t remember I or my guests ever wearing one and pictures show that. Nobody ever told me those seats were $425. I assumed that area was for friends of rodeo leaders or for rodeo leaders or such.

When I tried to ask that my guests be let in, the rodeo committee members first said the kids could stand in the back, but then proceeded to block the kids and mom from entering, grabbed me, shoved me, and threatened to arrest me. Even after I offered to leave if it meant that my guest and her kids were allowed to stay and finish watching the concert, the rodeo removed her and the kids from the dirt entirely. I had already been removed from the dirt.

At one point, a man in the crowd started heckling the little girl. At which point her mom asked a rodeo official to please tell the man to stop heckling her daughter. His response was, "well, I told you to leave." She and the kids had not been asked to leave. It was me they were shoving. He proceeded to get uncomfortably close to the mom, who felt she was going to be shoved herself.

In my role as Harris County Judge, I have never accepted anything inappropriately or used my role to personally enrich myself even though many others have. I understand the rodeo committee members have a job to do. They are trying to keep thousands of people safe at the largest rodeo in the world. I did not want to prevent the committee members from doing their jobs, nor was I trying to take advantage of ‘privileges’ or call in favors. I was not even interested in seeing the concert. I was only interested in helping community members enjoy an important event.

Harris County has always enjoyed a collaborative relationship with the rodeo. The county owns and leases NRG stadium to HLSR, and by virtue of my position I am Ex Oficio Director of the Rodeo. The Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation – NRG Park provides Harris County with tickets to the rodeo every night so that community leaders can bring partners and stakeholders and celebrate an important event together as a community."

Dolcefino Consulting posted screenshots of what's said to be a now-deleted post from Judge Hidalgo. 

Facebook videos

Early Thursday morning, she also released two audio recordings and two videos on her Facebook page from that night.

The caption of one of the clips reads:

"I made 4 posts back to back on here and on Instagram @linahidalgotx with the receipts. I added two videos and two recordings.

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 HLSR. 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 both parents of U.S. Airforce Sargeant David Saravia who died December 31 at 29. 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 timestime stamps.

This recording is of Chris Boleman, the CEO and president of HLSR, asking me for proof that I was manhandled and then him and his men blocking me from speaking to the people who saw the incident.

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?"

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Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo responds

On Thursday afternoon, 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."