Hundreds gathered in front of the Tarrant Appraisal District on Thursday morning in support of Chandler Crouch, a tax consultant who helps homeowners protest their property tax appraisals for free.

Crouch, a broker and founder of Chandler Crouch Realtors, is under investigation by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation after TAD Director of Residential Appraisal Randy Armstrong filed complaints against Crouch using his TAD title.

“It’s like a vendetta,” said Craig DeMoss of Grand Prairie.

He made a sign that read “WE VOUCH FOR CROUCH” on one side and “TAX AND DENY” on the other, so the first letter of each word lined up to spell “TAD” vertically.

Supporters of Crouch are calling for the resignation of Armstrong and Chief Appraiser Jeff Law, arguing he knew about the complaint in November and did not act on it.

Upon calling the meeting to order, the six-person board as well as Law went into a closed executive session for about 45 minutes. The legal reasoning for the closed session was personnel matters.

Starting at about 10:15 a.m., the board started to hear 3-minute comments from the public. Comments were still ongoing as of noon.

The meeting is taking place in a room big enough for only 14 spectators. Security is escorting members of the public in and out of the room to provide comments.

TAD employees and representatives of the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office barred certain credentialed media from entering the building, claiming the room was full.