Montgomery County law enforcement approved for overtime funding ahead of Trump rally

Montgomery County commissioners approved up to $100,000 in funding for county law enforcement overtime at a Jan. 25 court session. The funding will pay for law enforcement and other county staff to come in for a rally for former President Donald Trump on Jan. 29 at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Conroe.

According to Budget Officer Amanda Carter, the funds will come out of reclassified public safety funds. Commissioners also had the option of taking the money out of $341,000 in contingency funds. Past funding had either come out of the sheriff’s office’s operating budget or been reimbursed through township governments, Carter said.

The county agenda item listed the specific payments as “time and a half for nonexempt countywide law enforcement.”

Sheriff Rand Henderson made the request to commissioners. Henderson said the cost estimate came from a “careful analysis” that took into account support from other law enforcement agencies as well as private security The Trump Organization paid for.

Henderson said he did not expect trouble at the Jan. 29 event, though he estimated the size would be “five times” larger than Trump’s previous candidate rallies. Commissioners previously approved a maximum of $47,000 for security funding during the most recent rally, according to Henderson.

“They’ll be the most bored cops in the world [on Jan. 29],” Henderson said.

County Judge Mark Keough asked if the amount would be sufficient to prevent any potential crowd issues. Henderson said personnel “specifically trained” in crowd control, including from Precinct 4 Constable Kenneth Hayden’s unit, would be selected for the rally. He also confirmed The Trump Organization would bring its own traffic control.

“A lot of these people won’t engage unless there is trouble,” Henderson said. “If something does happen, we will be prepared for it.”

Commissioners unanimously approved the motion.