On Thursday, August 21, 2025, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that a Hood County resident, Cheryl Shadden, filed a criminal complaint against County Judge Ron Massingill, alleging official oppression and election interference.
Shadden, who resides approximately 10 miles from Granbury, accuses Massingill of improperly invalidating a petition to incorporate a new city, Mitchell Bend, preventing it from appearing on the November 4 ballot. She claims he acted on instructions from attorneys representing Marathon Digital Holdings, a cryptocurrency mining company, without notifying residents.
Shadden also filed complaints against Massingill with the Texas Attorney General’s Office, the Secretary of State, the Texas Rangers, and the U.S. Department of Justice. The Hood County Sheriff’s Office, where Shadden filed her complaint after waiting about an hour, did not respond to inquiries.
The complaint is rooted in a dispute involving Marathon Digital’s crypto mining operation, which Shadden and other Mitchell Bend residents say causes health issues, including headaches, high blood pressure, and hearing loss due to noise and vibrations. Residents are also opposing a proposed power plant, Wolf Hollow 3, seeking approval from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to operate near Marathon Digital. The community seeks incorporation to gain authority over regulating noise and pollution in the 2-square-mile area.
According to Shadden’s complaint, Massingill signed an order on May 2 to place the incorporation petition on the November 4 ballot. However, on August 5, he received a letter from Marathon Digital’s attorneys requesting that he retract the order, citing issues with the petition’s validity, including unverified signatures, ineligible territory, and map irregularities. The letter noted that County Attorney Matt Mills and Elections Administrator Stephanie Cooper had not independently verified the petition’s information.
On August 11, Massingill allegedly invalidated the petition without notifying the applicants, an action he acknowledged during the August 12 Commissioners Court meeting.
Following public outcry at the meeting, where residents like Danny Lakey expressed frustration over external corporate influence, Massingill reinstated the original order and approved a second petition to ensure the incorporation vote would appear on the November 4 ballot. Lakey told the court, “We’re tired of being bulldozed. We’re tired of being bullied. We’re tired of billion-dollar companies coming in and ruining our lives.”
Massingill explained that he vacated the initial order based on information from the elections administrator indicating the petition lacked the required number of registered voters. On August 13, he signed a new order allowing the election to proceed.
Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
