U.S. Marshal T. Michael O’Connor, a 5th-generation Texas rancher, leads the fight against violent crime with grit, heart, and a mustache as bold as his mission.
VICTORIA COUNTY, Texas — In the heart of South Texas, there’s a ranch older than the state itself. On it, a young boy rode horses before he could walk, mentored by rugged cowboys and raised on discipline, duty, and the wide-open land. Today, that boy is the U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Texas — and he still rides with his cowboys.
T. Michael O’Connor is as Texan as they come — a fifth-generation rancher and lifelong lawman with more than 40 years in law enforcement. His journey from the saddle to the U.S. Marshals Service is deeply personal, unapologetically gritty, and shaped by one unwavering mission: protecting the innocent by pursuing evil wherever it hides.
From ranch to badge
Born into one of the oldest ranching families in Texas — the O’Connors, whose patriarch fought in the Battle of San Jacinto — Marshal O’Connor’s childhood was a masterclass in survival, grit, and loyalty.
“I graduated from college on a Saturday,” he recalls, “and was back on a horse by Monday.”
The lessons from ranch life stuck. “You’re on your own most of the time. You have to improvise. Discipline. Don’t quit. Stay at it. Love it,” O’Connor said, eyes glinting beneath a worn cowboy hat. “This is a passion.”
He brought that same fire to law enforcement, where he served as a deputy, SWAT officer, and then four-term sheriff of Victoria County. He thought he might stop there — until he was tapped to lead the U.S. Marshals Service in South Texas.
Today, he oversees a district stretching from Houston to the border, managing hundreds of deputy marshals, leading violent fugitive task forces, and helping federal courts function behind the scenes. He calls it being a “sheriff on steroids.”
God’s work in the shadows
If you’ve never heard much about the U.S. Marshals Service, that’s by design.
“We’re the best-kept secret,” O’Connor said. “We don’t grandstand. We go in, we take care of business, and we disappear. Like ghosts.”
They arrest thousands of violent criminals every year — often the most dangerous fugitives wanted across jurisdictions. Most of their work never makes headlines.
“You’ve heard the saying, ‘You can run but you can’t hide?’ That was written about us,” he said. “Justice is coming — and then justice is here.”
Under a new federal mandate, O’Connor’s team also now tracks and captures violent offenders who aren’t U.S. citizens. He said it’s a heavy lift for a team already stretched thin, but he sees it as a moral duty.
“There is evil in this world,” O’Connor said. “There are predators. They prey on good people — the empathetic, the forgiving — and someone has to stand up for them.”
A leader in the field
Ask him about leadership, and O’Connor doesn’t cite textbooks or titles. Instead, he remembers advice from an old, hard-edged cowboy in South Texas: “Whatever you do, wherever you go, don’t forget to ride with your cowboys.”
“That’s been my practice,” O’Connor said. “I don’t sit at a desk. I go out in the field with my team.”
He believes true leadership comes down to three Cs: Connect, Communicate, and Collaborate. Above all, to lead with empathy.
“You can’t do this job without heart,” he said. “Some of the scenes we walk into are horrific. But we stay focused, we do what’s needed — and then we deal with the emotion later.”
Sometimes that means leaning on his team. Sometimes, it’s leaning on his dog, Izzie, a self-appointed emotional support partner and unofficial “U.S. Marshal” whom he once ceremonially swore in by raising her paw.
“She knows when I need her,” he said with a smile.
Faith, family, and firefights
Despite being shot at, O’Connor has never been hit.
“Saint Michael must be hanging around,” he joked, invoking the patron saint of law enforcement.
Faith is a constant anchor in his life, and so is his family. Known to his grandkids as “T7” (he’s the seventh in a line of Thomases), O’Connor is a father, grandfather, and devoted husband to “Madam Marshal,” his wife of 40+ years.
He insists law enforcement is not a job. It’s a calling. One that his family has supported since he first ran for sheriff and one he hopes his grandson will one day understand.
“When he looks back, I want him to say, ‘He made a difference.’ Maybe no one will remember who the sheriff or the marshal was, but if the community is safer, then I did my job,” O’Connor said.
A legacy of service
From presidents and prime ministers to prisoners and predators, O’Connor has crossed paths with every kind of person. Yet the people who made the deepest impact were often nameless — victims he’s vowed to protect, deputies he mentors, and cowboys who taught him how to stand tall.
He’s chased justice in dusty boots, led teams through the darkest corners of society, and mourned lost comrades, including a deputy killed in the line of duty. Through it all, he’s never lost his sense of humor, or his sense of purpose.
At 40+ years and counting, Marshal T. Michael O’Connor still wakes up each day ready to fight evil, protect the innocent, and ride — always — with his cowboys.
Watch our exclusive one-on-one interview with Marshal T. Michael O’Connor on KHOU 11+.
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