Fort Worth city council debate cut short after candidate accusations and shoving
A Fort Worth City Council candidate debate was cut short Thursday after organizers and police had to physically intervene to separate two of the candidates.
The altercation came after challenger Payton Jackson brought up a civil lawsuit against District 8 council member Chris Nettles, accusing the incumbent of conspiring with Jackson's landlord to reveal confidential information from her lease agreement. Nettles denied the allegations.
Roughly 100 people attended the debate, which was organized by the Historic Southside Neighborhood Association and held in the gymnasium of the Bethlehem Center, 951 Evans Ave.
The disagreement was sparked by a question from the moderators about what neighborhood in the district the candidates lived in.
Jackson, who was seated at a table to the left of Nettles, took the opportunity to bring up the lawsuit while walking over to the incumbent to place the legal filing on his table.
Nettles initially looked away from Jackson, but got up to address her as she remained hovering over his table.
The pair pointed fingers at each other before Nettles looked away. Jackson then placed her left hand on Nettles' shoulder, appearing to push him before he parried away her advance.
Organizers and Fort Worth police officers then stepped in to separate the candidates. Jackson had to be held back from Nettles while Nettles, who was surrounded by police, sat back down.
This isn't the first time Jackson and Nettles have been at odds. In December 2024, Jackson released a two-year-old audio clip of Nettles where he could be heard calling some of his council colleagues racist.
Nettles acknowledged his comments after the clip was released, saying in a statement that the recording 'may have been heavily edited' and was taken during a deeply emotional time for him.
After the debate, Jackson took to social media to criticize Nettles for his response to her serving him a lawsuit.
'Let that sink in: an elected official put his hands on a woman to avoid accountability,' she said in an Instagram post.
Nettles called Jackson's post a lie in a phone call with the Star-Telegram.
'I'm disappointed that the voters didn't get the opportunity to hear the entire debate or the entire candidate forum due to Payton Jackson, resulting in physical violence toward me,' he said, adding that he was grateful to Fort Worth police for getting the situation under control and protecting him.
Election day is May 3.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Cheerleaders for Violence: The Troubling Defense of Terror in Boulder
It was supposed to be a peaceful demonstration. Instead, it ended in flames. But what came after the attack in Boulder may be even more incendiary, especially online, where some users in their teens and 20s were not condemning the violence. They were endorsing it. On a clear afternoon in late May, a pro-Israel demonstration on Boulder, Colorados iconic Pearl Street Mall turned into a scene of terror. An Egyptian citizen, wielding improvised firebombs, attacked the crowd, injuring 15 people and igniting panic in a city more often associated with peaceful protests and college town calm. Authorities swiftly arrested the suspect, now charged with multiple felonies including attempted murder and arson. Law enforcement has labeled the incident an act of terrorism. But while the violence rattled the city and the Jewish community in particular, a very different response was unfolding online. Videos posted by major outlets such as ABC News, Daily Mail, and MSNBC quickly amassed thousands of views on TikTok and Instagram. In the comment sections, a disturbing trend emerged: Rather than denouncing the attack, many young users applauded it. "He just wanted freedom for Palestine." "Keep up the good work brother! Hero." "Free him, he did no wrong. He did what we all wanted." "I was about to comment about how terrible this is and then I realized it was a pro-Israel rally and I suddenly didnt feel bad anymore." Some expressed outright Jew-hatred, writing things like, "Reduce their population" and "We owe Germany an apology." Others painted the attacker as a martyr or revolutionary. Several claimed the incident was staged entirely, a so-called "false flag" to build sympathy for Israel. This chorus of justification, denial, and celebration is jarring but not entirely surprising given the current climate. Recent polling shows a dramatic shift in how young Americans view the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to Pew Research Center, 53% of U.S. adults now hold an unfavorable view of Israel. Support for the Palestinian cause has grown, particularly among Democrats and younger voters. In one RealClearPolling analysis,respondentsunder 28 years old were more likely than any other age group to sympathize with Palestinians over Israelis and to view Israels military actions in Gaza as unjustified. As someone from this generation, and from Boulder, Ive watched these sentiments evolve online, where politics blur with memes and moral lines often collapse under the weight of outrage or irony. Seeing this unfold in my own hometown made it feel less like an aberration and more like a wake-up call. Whats chilling isnt just the cruelty of the comments. Its how natural they seem to the people posting them, many of whom are my peers. Layered atop this political shift is a deepening distrust of institutions. A significant share of younger Americans express skepticism toward government narratives, traditional news media, and even the legitimacy of domestic law enforcement. According to the spring 2025 Harvard Youth Poll, fewer than one in three express trust in major institutions. But when that skepticism is applied to something as clear and violent as the Boulder attack, is it truly thoughtful or is it reflexive, corrosive doubt - the kind that opens the door to conspiracism and moral disengagement? That mindset helps explain the abundance of conspiracy-laden responses: "Yeah they set this up. Dont believe it at all," read one comment. Another called it a "planned distraction," while others insisted it was staged with actors. Though many of these reactions remain anonymous and ephemeral, they point to a generational divide not just in foreign policy, but in the moral frameworks through which violence is interpreted. Zoe Mardiks, a recent graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder and a Jewish student leader, was at her apartment when she learned of the attack. "My first reaction was to text some of my other Jewish friends to check in and ensure that everyone was okay and safe," she said. "I felt very scared that this had happened in my community." What disturbed her just as much as the attack itself was the flood of online comments defending it. "The ongoing justification for violence significantly downplays the rights of Jews and Israel to exist," Mardiks said. In her view, social media has warpedher generations sense of moral clarity. "Because of how the war has been broadcast on social media, everyone feels they have a say in the issue and believes they possess all the knowledge," she said. Mardiks said her response to those defending the attacker is simple: "If you truly care about saving or freeing anyone, we can only do that by educating each other in a non-attacking way … the line is drawn when you praise violence." The Boulder attack marks a grim milestone: a foreign conflict spilling onto American soil in the form of violence, and met, in some corners of the Internet, with tacit approval. That many of those corners are populated by Americans under 30 raises hard questions about what this generation, my generation, believes, whom they stand with, and what they consider justifiable resistance. For us, the line between protest and terrorism used to feel clear. Now, for too many, that line seems negotiable. "He did what we all wanted." If thats true, we may need to start asking what "we" really means now. Adair Teuton is a 2025 intern with RealClearPolitics.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Cuomo Claimed These NYCHA Tenant Leaders Endorsed Him. They Say They Never Did.
By Samantha Maldonado, THE CITY This story was originally published by THE CITY. Sign up to get the latest New York City news delivered to you each morning. Jeannette Salcedo is still mulling over who to endorse in the mayor's race. So Salcedo, the resident association president at NYCHA's Castle Hill Houses in The Bronx, was taken aback when someone asked her about an Instagram post from former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's account with her name on it, indicating she'd endorsed him for mayor. 'How did that happen?' Salcedo asked. 'I did not endorse him. I did not. I don't know who I'm endorsing. My questions, as far as I'm concerned, haven't been answered.' Still, Salcedo's name appeared with 26 other NYCHA tenant association presidents on a list the campaign released in May that indicated they all endorsed him for mayor. But that is not the case. Five tenant association presidents who appeared on the list told THE CITY they did not endorse the former governor, saying they still need to decide amongst candidates. Two others didn't reveal whether or not Cuomo won their backing, but said they never approved their names appearing on the list. Six presidents confirmed their endorsements of Cuomo, but of those, one said she didn't know the list would be public. In a statement, Cuomo campaign spokesperson Esther Jensen pointed out that the list had been public for over a month and cast doubt on the claims. 'Something smells here,' she said. 'When THE CITY reached out, we reconnected with NYCHA Tenant Leaders and learned that some had privately expressed feeling intimidated by supporters of other candidates, while others simply didn't welcome the attention that came from press inquiries.' Over half a million New Yorkers live in NYCHA developments throughout the boroughs, and securing the endorsements of the tenant leaders can serve as a boon for any mayoral campaign. And it's especially significant for Cuomo, who served as secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton and says that experience makes him the most qualified candidate on housing. The Cuomo campaign has been afflicted by missteps, including a housing plan with garbled sections written with the help of artificial intelligence. It was twice docked matching funds as a penalty for ads bought by an independent committee that a city board said illegally coordinated with the campaign. Cuomo is appealing the decisions. Salcedo said Cuomo's campaign had reached out to her, and she told them she didn't know enough to say she'd endorse him. Instead she told the campaign representative, whose name she didn't remember, to put her on the list to learn more. Salcedo made a social media post of her own clarifying her stance and said she has now soured on considering Cuomo for mayor, given what happened. 'When you speak to someone in a leadership role, it's important to get their words correct. You don't just take their words and run with it,' she said. 'At this point now, that threw me to the left. I don't want any parts of you.' NYCHA leaders like Salcedo said they are eager to know what the mayoral candidates plan to improve the aging and cash-strapped public housing stock, which faces devastating possible budget cuts from the federal government. Cuomo, the race's frontrunner, proposed upgrading NYCHA through a five-year investment of $2.5 billion, converting more sites to private management and developing new apartments on open space on campuses, among other ideas. Two tenant association presidents told THE CITY they found out their names appeared on the list only after someone from City Hall reached out and asked about it. A City Hall spokesperson clarified that in both cases, a community affairs staffer who had longstanding relationships with the tenant association presidents communicated informally in the context of regular business. One of those presidents, who asked to be kept anonymous to protect her residents from any blowback, said she had a call with the Cuomo campaign but never confirmed her support. She called the whole situation 'dirty politics' and said the campaign 'blew the trust.' 'I haven't really made up my mind, and I don't know who I'm voting for yet because it's not even early voting,' she said, adding that she'd have to 'face the music' the next time she saw Mayor Eric Adams. Adams has announced he will be running for reelection as an independent in November. Lehra Brooks, Throggs Neck Houses Tenant Association president, confirmed her support for Cuomo, but said she was blindsided when she saw her name and title publicly on the list. She said she found out when she got a call from Adams' office, which sent her a copy. 'I didn't know they were putting us out as tenant association presidents. I was speaking for me, personally,' Brooks said. 'I think that this is some funky politics.' Still, she backs Cuomo, pointing to his leadership during the pandemic. 'He did an excellent job, and I said yes, I would support. When I look at the state of how we are right now, he'd be good,' she said. Rashida Reid, president of the South Beach Houses Resident Association in Staten Island, learned her name was on the list when THE CITY contacted her about it. She said she spoke to someone from the Cuomo campaign and didn't tell them whether or not she'd support him. 'I have not made up my mind,' Reid said. 'I need to see what [the candidates] stand for.' Kimberly Comes, president of the Redfern Houses Resident Council in Far Rockaway, was one of the people who accurately appeared on the list in support of Cuomo. 'He came to visit our community, and he spoke with some of the residents,' she said. 'I haven't given any cash or anything like that, but we feel he would be a great mayor.' ― ― Samantha Maldonado is a senior reporter for THE CITY, where she covers climate, resiliency, housing and development.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Cuomo Claimed These NYCHA Tenant Leaders Endorsed Him. They Say They Never Did.
By Samantha Maldonado, THE CITY This story was originally published by THE CITY. Sign up to get the latest New York City news delivered to you each morning. Jeannette Salcedo is still mulling over who to endorse in the mayor's race. So Salcedo, the resident association president at NYCHA's Castle Hill Houses in The Bronx, was taken aback when someone asked her about an Instagram post from former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's account with her name on it, indicating she'd endorsed him for mayor. 'How did that happen?' Salcedo asked. 'I did not endorse him. I did not. I don't know who I'm endorsing. My questions, as far as I'm concerned, haven't been answered.' Still, Salcedo's name appeared with 26 other NYCHA tenant association presidents on a list the campaign released in May that indicated they all endorsed him for mayor. But that is not the case. Five tenant association presidents who appeared on the list told THE CITY they did not endorse the former governor, saying they still need to decide amongst candidates. Two others didn't reveal whether or not Cuomo won their backing, but said they never approved their names appearing on the list. Six presidents confirmed their endorsements of Cuomo, but of those, one said she didn't know the list would be public. In a statement, Cuomo campaign spokesperson Esther Jensen pointed out that the list had been public for over a month and cast doubt on the claims. 'Something smells here,' she said. 'When THE CITY reached out, we reconnected with NYCHA Tenant Leaders and learned that some had privately expressed feeling intimidated by supporters of other candidates, while others simply didn't welcome the attention that came from press inquiries.' Over half a million New Yorkers live in NYCHA developments throughout the boroughs, and securing the endorsements of the tenant leaders can serve as a boon for any mayoral campaign. And it's especially significant for Cuomo, who served as secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton and says that experience makes him the most qualified candidate on housing. The Cuomo campaign has been afflicted by missteps, including a housing plan with garbled sections written with the help of artificial intelligence. It was twice docked matching funds as a penalty for ads bought by an independent committee that a city board said illegally coordinated with the campaign. Cuomo is appealing the decisions. Salcedo said Cuomo's campaign had reached out to her, and she told them she didn't know enough to say she'd endorse him. Instead she told the campaign representative, whose name she didn't remember, to put her on the list to learn more. Salcedo made a social media post of her own clarifying her stance and said she has now soured on considering Cuomo for mayor, given what happened. 'When you speak to someone in a leadership role, it's important to get their words correct. You don't just take their words and run with it,' she said. 'At this point now, that threw me to the left. I don't want any parts of you.' NYCHA leaders like Salcedo said they are eager to know what the mayoral candidates plan to improve the aging and cash-strapped public housing stock, which faces devastating possible budget cuts from the federal government. Cuomo, the race's frontrunner, proposed upgrading NYCHA through a five-year investment of $2.5 billion, converting more sites to private management and developing new apartments on open space on campuses, among other ideas. Two tenant association presidents told THE CITY they found out their names appeared on the list only after someone from City Hall reached out and asked about it. A City Hall spokesperson clarified that in both cases, a community affairs staffer who had longstanding relationships with the tenant association presidents communicated informally in the context of regular business. One of those presidents, who asked to be kept anonymous to protect her residents from any blowback, said she had a call with the Cuomo campaign but never confirmed her support. She called the whole situation 'dirty politics' and said the campaign 'blew the trust.' 'I haven't really made up my mind, and I don't know who I'm voting for yet because it's not even early voting,' she said, adding that she'd have to 'face the music' the next time she saw Mayor Eric Adams. Adams has announced he will be running for reelection as an independent in November. Lehra Brooks, Throggs Neck Houses Tenant Association president, confirmed her support for Cuomo, but said she was blindsided when she saw her name and title publicly on the list. She said she found out when she got a call from Adams' office, which sent her a copy. 'I didn't know they were putting us out as tenant association presidents. I was speaking for me, personally,' Brooks said. 'I think that this is some funky politics.' Still, she backs Cuomo, pointing to his leadership during the pandemic. 'He did an excellent job, and I said yes, I would support. When I look at the state of how we are right now, he'd be good,' she said. Rashida Reid, president of the South Beach Houses Resident Association in Staten Island, learned her name was on the list when THE CITY contacted her about it. She said she spoke to someone from the Cuomo campaign and didn't tell them whether or not she'd support him. 'I have not made up my mind,' Reid said. 'I need to see what [the candidates] stand for.' Kimberly Comes, president of the Redfern Houses Resident Council in Far Rockaway, was one of the people who accurately appeared on the list in support of Cuomo. 'He came to visit our community, and he spoke with some of the residents,' she said. 'I haven't given any cash or anything like that, but we feel he would be a great mayor.' ― ― Samantha Maldonado is a senior reporter for THE CITY, where she covers climate, resiliency, housing and development.
