(This story was updated to add new information and because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.)
Correction: This story was updated to indicate the correct classification for a charge of disorderly conduct.
Corpus Christi police arrested Isabel Araiza, a community activist and an assistant professor of sociology at Del Mar College, on a charge of disorderly conduct after she addressed the Corpus Christi City Council during a public meeting on Sept. 2.
Araiza, the coordinator of the college’s Center for Mexican American Studies, was speaking during public comment in opposition to proposed increases to parks and recreation fees — part of the budget discussions — when she was described as “loud and boisterous” by a city official, a recording of the meeting showed.
Araiza told the Caller-Times that police released her the same day and that she was told the charge was dismissed. The Corpus Christi Municipal Court and the City Detention Center did not respond to the Caller-Times’ requests for information.
During her public comment, Araiza described how an increase in fees would make services less accessible to low-income residents, claiming the proposal was an example of “our council centering industry before they center people,” the video showed.
Araiza suggested that funds in the city’s Crime Control and Prevention District could be spent on city parks and play areas, instead of policing, to prevent crime by making activities available for children. Araiza was describing how children must take a bus to the Lindale Recreation Center to participate in activities, whereas past generations of children could walk to the center, when a city official made the comment.
“You’re a POS,” she responded. As she walked away from the microphone, she said other expletives.
The Corpus Christi Police Department confirmed Araiza’s arrest in a news release on Sept. 3. Disorderly conduct is a Class C misdemeanor.
Araiza, who ran for Corpus Christi mayor in 2024 and founded the grassroots group For the Greater Good, is a frequent attendee of public meetings and vocal critic of desalination.
Araiza could not immediately be reached for comment.
Del Mar College declined to comment on Araiza’s arrest, according to spokesperson Melinda Eddleman.
The arrest follows a stricter enforcement of City Council public comment rules, which include a prohibition on swearing, “loud, boisterous, profane or obscene language.”
According to a slide from the Sept. 2 City Council meeting, “Citizens must refrain from any disturbing noise, demonstration, or other act disrupting to the City Council business.”
Police officers arrested two other people who they said “were repeatedly disruptive despite being asked to stop” during the meeting, according to the department news release. Both were charged with misdemeanors.
One person had not signed up for public comment but went to the podium and began yelling about wearing masks and COVID-19, the meeting video showed. The other was talking about issues related to the city’s proposed desalination plant when she began speaking profanely. Police could be seen handcuffing her and leading her away.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Del Mar College professor arrested after ‘boisterous’ City Council public comment
Reporting by Katie Nickas and Kirsten Crow, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
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