'They want to silence me': Pasadena man questions arrest after addressing city council

PASADENA, Texas (KTRK) -- A Pasadena man claims his First Amendment rights were infringed upon after his arrest at a recent city council meeting.

"They want to silence me," Stephen Alvarez told Eyewitness News Thursday.

During Tuesday night's public comment portion of the meeting, Alvarez took frequent jabs at Pasadena Mayor Jeff Wagner.

"Look at the immaturity of little Jeffrey. He's the one that orchestrated you to have this wall built," Alvarez told council members, referring to the glass partition separating them from audience members.

Seconds into Alvarez's remarks, Councilwoman Bianca Valerio interrupts.

"This is against our rules of bashing characters and whatnot," Valerio said.

A 2014 Pasadena ordinance bans disparaging and derogatory comments at council meetings.

"Those rules violate my First Amendment constitutional right to address my government in its formal capacity," Alvarez told Eyewitness News.

After being admonished, Alvarez continued his remarks and then took his seat.

It was not until 21 minutes later that he was told he had to leave the meeting.

A delegation from the Chamber of Commerce had taken the stage to pose for pictures.

When the audience applauded, Alvarez could be heard saying, "What happened to no clapping, little Jeffrey?"

"In his prior meetings, he says no clapping. So, when they finished taking the picture, they all started clapping," Alvarez explained Thursday.

Seconds after he made the comment about clapping, four police officers approached and escorted him from the council chambers.

Once outside, he said he was put in handcuffs and taken to jail.

Court records show Alvarez was charged with disrupting a meeting. It's a charge so rare that Eyewitness News could only find one other instance of someone being charged with it in Harris County in the last two years.

That case was dismissed due to lack of probable cause.

"What was the whole reason to arrest me other than to intimidate me and silence me for good?" Alvarez asked.

The mayor's office referred Eyewitness News to Pasadena police. Police declined to comment on the arrest.

Records show Alvarez had to pay a $100 bond to get out of jail, and bond conditions included staying away from city hall and presumably future city council meetings.

Councilwoman Valerio has yet to return ABC13's email seeking comment.

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