Missouri City is a small suburb of Houston that most people aren’t familiar with, but the city’s mayor, Allen Owen, has recently come under fire for his actions taken during Hurricane Harvey.

During the 52″ rainfall, and after stores had closed, homes were sandbagged, and cars were off the road, Owen took it upon himself to institute “marshall” law in the city (that’s how he spelled it) and commandeer, procure, and use private property at his leisure.

With a government permission slip signed by the mayor and city attorney, city staff broke into Lowes, Wal-Mart, H-E-B, and Academy Sporting goods taking kayaks, boots, and other items they claimed to need. The mayor has yet to pinpoint precisely how much in goods were taken but said somewhere between $10,000 and $20,000. Actions like this should be concerning to property owners and property rights activists, but mayor Owen said those concerns shouldn’t lead to questions. People who haven’t “been in my boots”, he said in the weeks following the disaster, “need to keep their mouths shut.”

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