Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare ordered the clearing of the commissioners’ courtroom on Tuesday after members of the public laughed during a speaker’s comparison of Texas to Russia, escalating tensions during a meeting on proposed changes to local voting sites.

The incident occurred roughly an hour into the meeting, which took place in Fort Worth as county commissioners debated a controversial proposal to reduce the number of Election Day voting locations from 316 in 2022 to 176 for the upcoming November midterms. Early voting sites would also be scaled back from 50 to 42. Last year, Republican commissioners voted to cut over 100 polling places in the county, which registers more than 1.3 million voters.

Following the laughter, Judge O’Hare warned attendees and then cleared the chamber, later permitting residents to return individually to address the court and remain in the audience after speaking.

The meeting took a further dramatic turn when former state lawmaker Lon Burnam, 73, was removed forcibly by sheriff’s deputies after lifting the microphone during his remarks, an apparent violation of a courtroom decorum rule cited by the judge.

Outside the courtroom, a crowd of residents expressed their discontent by chanting slogans such as “Shame, shame, shame” and “Vote them out,” while videos documenting the unrest spread rapidly on social media.

Amid the debate, Republican commissioners Matt Krause, Manny Ramirez, and Judge O’Hare defended the proposal primarily as a cost-saving measure. Conversely, Democratic commissioners Alisa Simmons and Roderick Miles opposed the reduction, with critics arguing the cuts could disproportionately hinder access to voting for low-income and minority voters in the county.

The courtroom disruption came after Ambika Sharma likened Texas to Russia during her public remarks, prompting laughter from the audience. O’Hare interrupted and promptly cleared the room.

Later in the session, Base Mego, a 56-year-old Fort Worth resident, was also removed after picking up the microphone during his address. Mego, who has autism and has previously been granted accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act allowing him to hold the microphone, said the removal was “a complete disgrace” and “a huge slap in the face” to county residents.

Judge O’Hare, who is running for re-election in November against Democratic commissioner Alisa Simmons, did not respond to requests for comment following the meeting.

The county commissioners ultimately tabled the proposal after hours of public testimony, leaving the future of the voting site reductions uncertain.