SMITH COUNTY, Texas — Lance Phillips, the son of Smith County Pct. 3 Commissioner Terry Phillips and recently arrested Smith County clerk Karen Phillips, was arrested after being forcibly removed from Smith County Commissioners Court on Tuesday following an outburst.
CBS19 crews were in the courtroom when the incident occurred.
Lance Phillips, 39, was heard shouting during the public comment portion. When asked to leave, he refused, went limp and was removed by law enforcement.
The incident can be viewed in the video below:
He was then taken into custody by the Smith County Sheriff's Office and booked into the Smith County Jail on $500 bond for disruption of a meeting or procession.
Lance Phillips also signed up to speak at the commissioners court meeting on Tuesday, May 2, on what he called "slander" against his family.
During public comment, Lance Phillips began by saying, "This is what can happen to you when you're driving down the Smith County roads. I just wanted to correct the slander about my family. For the record..."
Smith County Judge Neal Franklin then stopped Lance Phillips saying if he wasn't going to speak about replats on Smith County roads, he could not speak.
Lance Phillips gave what he had prepared to say on paper to commissioners court officials, asking for it to be put into the record.
After going back to the seating area, Lance Phillips interrupted Franklin as the meeting moved forward and Franklin told him to not call out from the crowd.
That interaction can be viewed in the video below:
Karen Phillips, 65, of Tyler, was booked into the Smith County Jail on April 4 on a charge of interfering with public duties. She had a $1,000 bond and has now been released from the jail, records show.
The charge stems from the arrest of her other son, Derek Phillips, who is accused of interfering with a March 28 traffic stop when deputies tried to pull another man, Cody Voss, over for having his tail lights out, according to the sheriff's office.
That incident can be viewed in the video below:
Documents show that Derek Phillips interfered with Voss' traffic stop arrest several times. Officials also said Karen Phillips grabbed a sheriff's deputy and pushed another deputy as these officers tried to arrest Derek Phillips after he ran into her home.