DALLAS – Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson was a no-show at a scheduled public event on Thursday. 

That sparked some confusion and the announcement that the mayor’s public appearances are temporarily canceled due to security concerns.

But the mayor’s office said it’s not true.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson

What’s new:

Workforce Czar Lynn McBee told the audience at an event to mark a new partnership between the city and Goodwill that the mayor was not in attendance because of an issue surrounding his security. No specifics were provided.

“I want to share Mayor Johnson had planned to be with us today, but was recently advised his public appearances are being temporarily suspended for security reasons,” she said.

Instead of his public appearance, a video that Johnson filmed on Wednesday was played.

However, after the event, the mayor’s spokesperson denied the claim, noting that he had attended a public event on Thursday morning and has more events scheduled in the days ahead.

The backstory:

Mayor Johnson recently gained national attention after a dispute with Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux.

Johnson criticized Comeaux for rejecting a $25 million offer to partner with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The mayor has previously told FOX News that he would support efforts by President Donald Trump to deport undocumented migrants accused of violent crimes.

He argued decisions involving $25 million deals should be reviewed publicly. Johnson also said the partnership could be a way to bring in money that the city and police department need.

What we don’t know:

We don’t know if Johnson’s recent comments created any security concerns, and his office denies that security issues had anything to do with his absence on Thursday.

However, Johnson’s office did not elaborate on his whereabouts.

Victor Wembanyama has gotten hype from just about everyone in the basketball world leading up to the opening night of the NBA season. He backed it up on opening night by dominating the Dallas Mavericks with 40 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks on 15-21 shooting in the San Antonio Spurs’ 125-92 victory. The superstar’s performance led the Spurs to their first opening-night victory since the 2019-20 season.

The Mavericks hung around for about 20 minutes, until the Spurs started to pull away at the end of the second quarter. San Antonio never looked back after establishing a 20-point lead in the third quarter.

They built their lead with stout defense that led to easy buckets on the offensive end. The Spurs held the Mavs to 37.3% shooting. They stole the ball 10 times and scored 19 points off turnovers. They owned the paint, outscoring Dallas 68-26 inside.

Wembanyama will get all of the attention with his stellar play, but his running mate, Stephon Castle, should get a lot of credit as well. The former Rookie of the Year was disruptive defensively, holding first-overall pick Cooper Flagg to just 10 points in his NBA debut. Castle had 22 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals in the win. Anthony Davis led the way for the Mavericks, putting up 22 points and 13 rebounds in the loss.

The Spurs will look to improve to 2-0 in New Orleans against the Pelicans on Friday night.