Texas Cops Seized Photographs From a Museum and Launched Child Pornography Investigation

Police in Fort Worth, Texas, seized photographs from an art exhibit in November after local politicians decried the images as pornographic. The photos, from artist Sally Mann’s 1992 collection Immediate Family depict intimate details of Mann’s family life, including several images of her young children nude. This week, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas spoke out against the seizure, arguing the images are non-sexualized works of art protected by the First Amendment.

“It’s shameful that government officials would use the criminal legal process to censor art and expression,” Adriana Piñon the legal director of the ACLU of Texas said in a Wednesday statement. “This is a clear violation of the First Amendment and of the guardrails against abuse of the criminal justice system. Artistic expression should not be subject to the whim and punishment of government officials’ personal taste.”

Mann’s photos were being exhibited at The Modern Art Museum of Forth Worth, as part of an exhibit called “Diaries of Home,” which featured photographs from female and nonbinary artists that “probe preconceptions about domestic, familial, and communal spaces in the United States, which are often considered feminine spheres.”

Intimate Family contains 13 photos depicting children in the nude. Some of the images displayed at the museum included “depictions of Mann’s daughter jumping onto a picnic table in a ballet pose, Mann’s daughter lying in bed with a stain from a nighttime accident, and Mann’s son with a melted popsicle running down his body,” according to the ACLU’s press release.

The exhibit went up in November 2024 and was quickly met with controversy. In December 2024, Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare told The Dallas Express that the photos “should be taken down immediately and investigated by law enforcement for any and all potential criminal violations.” State Rep. David Lowe (R–North Richland Hills) also told the paper “it is crucial that our legal framework leaves no room for predators to misuse the realm of art to display child nudity.” In early January, the Forth Worth Report reported that four images had been seized and were now subject to an investigation. Weeks later, the images were still being held in a police storage facility.

“The images of children reported in the media at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth are deeply disturbing,” O’Hare posted on X in January. “Sexual exploitation of a minor, including under the guise of ‘art,’ should never be tolerated. I have full confidence in law enforcement to thoroughly investigate this matter and take appropriate action. I will always be committed to protecting the most vulnerable members of society, our children.”

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), and the ACLU of Texas teamed up to send a letter to the Fort Worth Police Department demanding that the investigation be stopped and the photos returned.

“The Supreme Court has expressly rejected the suggestion that every depiction of nudity appeals to the prurient interest. Mann’s images are not sexualized,” the letter reads. “Like much art, the images’ meaning may be ambiguous or controversial, there is no question they are intended to provoke thought and challenge viewers to engage with ideas, not to satisfy their sexual desires.”

The letter also highlighted the clearly censorious nature of the police’s decision to remove the photos from the museum. “It is hard to escape the conclusion that the Fort Worth Police Department seized the photos— removing them from the exhibit for the back half of its duration—at least in part to block their exhibition. Seizing the works was not necessary to preserve them as evidence, as the police could have easily accessed them online or photographed them in the museum. And the seizure came on the heels of complaints about the art by local officials and politicians,” the letter reads. “Courts do not look kindly on bad-faith prosecutions that target artistic expression under the guise of combatting child pornography.” 

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