Attorney to first amendment auditing community superstars CJ Grisham was briefly detained in Tarrant County, Texas, on Tuesday as questions about his concealed carry weapon prevented him from re-entering the first session of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court of the year.
The Tarrant County Commissioners Court was scheduled to discuss a recent increase of deaths of inmates at the Tarrant County jail since 2017, including nine deaths in 2024.
Attorney Grisham and first amendment auditor Manuel Mata were among protestors who wanted answers from the commission Tuesday night. Mata would eventually be arrested for filming an argument in the courtroom without permission to record and arguing with police that would lead to disorderly conduct charges.
The attorney was detained as he stepped out of the courtroom to use the bathroom during a brief intermission before the public feedback portion of the meeting. According to Grisham, on the way back into the courtroom he exchanged greetings with a police officer he knew, who asked if he was carrying a weapon.
Grisham responded to the officer in the affirmative, claiming he had a right under federal law to conceal carry within the Texas courthouse from his status as he served as a law enforcement officer in the military. The men began to argue, and Grisham was briefly detained by police, who ultimately determined that they were not going to charge him with a crime.
A third person was detained and arrested at the event, however, circumstances leading to their arrest and what they were charged with have not been released as of press time.
Returning to his car and livestreaming, Grisham said that he would be filing a federal lawsuit against Tarrant County “by the end of the day.” He said that the signs prohibiting weapons in the building were not valid according to federal regulations and he had protected status as a veteran to conceal carry as he pleased.
Grisham is famous for defending Jack “Texas Sheepdog” Miller from possession of child pornography charges last year and was the initial lawyer for Carolyn “Carolina in Ft. Worth” Rodriguez last year after she got into an altercation with a police officer that left her hospitalized in Fort Worth.
There is no indication on Grisham’s YouTube page if he followed through with his threatened lawsuit as of press time.
