Del Rio jury clears woman in trespass case after school protest clash
A six-member Del Rio jury cleared Clara McDonald in 75 minutes, rejecting the county’s trespass case from a confrontation outside Del Rio High School.
A Del Rio jury cleared Clara McDonald of criminal trespass after just one hour and 15 minutes of deliberation, ending a case that grew out of a 2024 confrontation outside Del Rio High School over anti-abortion pamphlets.
The six jurors, three women and three men, returned the not-guilty verdict in Val Verde County Court-at-Law on July 6 before Judge Sergio Gonzalez. Jury selection began shortly after 9 a.m. that morning, and about 35 people responded to the summons pool. Assistant County Attorney Omar Fuentes and First Assistant County Attorney John Klemmer handled the case for the state, while Harold Danford, Jonathan O’Hara and Thomas Hurt represented McDonald.
The charge was a Class B misdemeanor, and the trial turned on whether prosecutors could prove McDonald had actually been on school property after being told to leave. Opening statements framed the dispute around conduct, not speech, with prosecutors arguing she had multiple chances to leave before police arrested her. The defense countered that the state had not shown enough proof that she was ever on school grounds or properly notified in the way Texas law requires.
Texas Penal Code Section 30.05 requires proof that a person entered or remained on another person’s property after receiving notice that entry was forbidden, or after receiving notice to depart and failing to do so. Witnesses included a school resource officer, Del Rio High School principal and a school district police sergeant. The San Felipe Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District Police Department's jurisdiction covers district-owned, leased or controlled property.
McDonald also pursues a separate federal civil-rights case filed April 17 against the City of Del Rio, San Felipe Del Rio CISD, Officer Cameron Wallace and others.
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