Terry Mutchler Quoted in The Intercept on Public Records Lawsuit

Terry Mutchler, Chair of Obermayer’s Transparency & Public Data Practice, was quoted in The Intercept’s September 29, 2026, article, “The Intercept Sues Texas City Over Refusal to Release Police Records on Prairieland Protest.”

The article examines The Intercept’s lawsuit against the City of Alvarado, Texas, and its police department over the city’s failure to fulfill a public records request regarding a July 2025 protest at the Prairieland Detention Facility that turned violent and led to lengthy prison sentences for several activists. 

According to the complaint and Mutchler, who represents The Intercept in the case, the news outlet agreed to pay hundreds of dollars for the requested records. However, the city has failed to process the payment and has not released the records, leaving the request unresolved.

“I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and this is one of the singularly most distressing cases that I’ve seen in terms of public access to records,” Mutchler said. “This is stonewalling on steroids.”

“The Intercept cut the check, and now the city won’t cash the check and they won’t give us the records — it’s radio silence,” said Mutchler.

“This is a situation where the public officials should be ashamed of themselves for forgetting who they work for.”

Read the full article here.