Guardian of Uvalde shooting victim arrested for disrupting county meeting

Uvalde Police on Monday arrested the guardian of one of the children slain in the Robb Elementary School shooting and charged the man with disrupting a county commissioners meeting.

Brett Cross, guardian of 10-year-old shooting victim Uziyah Garcia, was escorted out of the Uvalde County Courthouse after directing a tirade at former Uvalde police lieutenant and current County Commissioner Mariano Pargas Jr.

In a video of the confrontation, Cross is seen yelling at Pargas about his motion to approve the minutes of the previous commissioners' meeting, even though Pragas hadn't been in attendance.

Pargas then warns Cross to "watch his language."

"Language? Language? Language?" Cross shoots back in response. "My child is fucking dead. Dead! And you have the gall to stand up here in front of everybody…"

The clip then shows Cross being escorted out of the courthouse and arrested by Uvalde police.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the Uvalde Police Department said it's "cooperating fully with relevant authorities to gather all pertinent information" about Cross' arrest.

In a post on social media platform X, Cross said he was charged with Disrupting a Meeting or Procession.

"It's kind of funny that everyone wants to throw around 'amendments,' yet my First Amendment right was taken from me, and I was arrested for it," Cross tweeted. He added that he stands by his statement to Pragas.

Yeah, I was arrested today for saying “fuck” in a county commissioner’s meeting. Took about 3 hours before they could actually find something to charge me with. Finally charged me with Disrupting a meeting or procession.

It’s kind of funny that everyone wants to throw around… pic.twitter.com/4U8r78vsSp

— Brett Cross (@BCross052422) February 27, 2024

Pargas was acting chief of the Uvalde Police Department on the day of the massacre, which took place May 24, 2022, according to the Express-News. Acting Chief Daniel Rodriguez was out of town.

Law enforcement officials dispatched to handle the mass shooting at Robb Elementary have received widespread criticism for their sluggish response to the tragedy.  It took nearly 400 state and local officers more than an hour to enter the classroom and eliminate the gunman.

A U.S. Justice Department report issued last month blasted police for "cascading failures.

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