Texas state representative Nicole Collier speaks during a House Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., on July 29, 2021.
Credit – Stefani Reynolds—Bloomberg/Getty Images
Rep. Nicole Collier, a Democrat representing Fort Worth, claims that she’s been unlawfully locked in the Texas House chambers, where she remained overnight Monday and may stay for days until the issue is resolved.
Collier was one of dozens of Democrats who fled the state earlier this month to break quorum in an effort to block a vote on a contentious redistricting plan backed by President Donald Trump that would favor Republican candidates in the 2026 midterm elections. Some of the representatives returned on Monday for the start of a second special session but GOP Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows is requiring that they be escorted by state troopers when leaving the House chamber to prevent another walkout.
Collier, however, said she would not agree to such monitoring.
“I refuse to sign away my dignity as a duly elected representative just so Republicans can control my movements and monitor me with police escorts,” Collier said in a statement to media outlets.
“My constituents sent me to Austin to protect their voices and rights,” she said. “When I press that button to vote, I know these maps will harm my constituents—I won’t just go along quietly with their intimidation or their discrimination.”
Proposed Texas maps kicked off interstate redistricting fight
Texas GOP leaders have criticized the Democrats that fled for having “abandoned their duties.” Earlier this month, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit to remove 13 representatives from office over their continued absence on Aug. 8, while Gov. Greg Abbott requested that the Texas Supreme Court vacate the seat of House Democratic leader Gene Wu. Litigation is ongoing, although it’s not clear how the members’ return will affect the suits.
Even so, the passage of the redistricting plan is all but guaranteed. The Texas Senate redistricting committee approved the maps on Sunday, and the Republican-majority upper chamber could vote on the plan as soon as this Wednesday.
“We knew that this was something we were not going to be able to stop,” Rep. Ramon Romero, one of the Democrats who fled, told the Fort Worth Report. “We could slow it down, though, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Texas Republicans were energized by the Democrats’ return. “Representatives come and go. Issues rise and fall. But this body has endured wars, economic depressions and quorum breaks dating back to the very first session,” Burrows said at Monday’s session. “We are done waiting. We have a quorum. Now is the time for action.”
Trump posted on Truth Social, “Please pass this Map, ASAP.” Trump had earlier threatened to involve Federal Bureau of Investigations officers in bringing back the representatives.
The Democrats’ return to the state comes after California launched its own redistricting plan that would counter the Texas Republicans’ efforts. Several more states—Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New York, and Ohio—have also entered redistricting battles. Redistricting typically happens once every 10 years, after the U.S. census, which was last conducted in 2020. But Trump and his allies began lobbying for Republican states to redraw their congressional lines sooner, in order to gain an advantage in next year’s midterms.
“Now that the nation is involved in this fight, some Texas Democrats are coming back to fight these racist maps in the legislature and then in the courts,” Texas Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder said in a statement Monday. “Texans can see that the Republicans would rather serve Trump than serve the interests of Texans.”
Wu told the Houston Chronicle that the Democrats will challenge the legality of the maps. Many Democrats, though, did not return on Monday.
“Even if California and New York redistrict and successfully get rid of Republicans, that doesn’t help my district,” Rep. Jolanda Jones, who did not return to Texas, told the New York Times. “We will lose one Black seat in Houston and one Black seat in Dallas. That’s unacceptable.”
Collier alleges “illegal confinement”
Collier told CBS that she could go to her office with a police escort and with Department of Public Safety officers stationed outside or she could remain inside the chamber. She told the Fort Worth Report that she does not know how long she will be there for.
Collier has filed a habeas corpus petition to a Travis County court alleging her “illegal confinement.” Another Democratic representative, Ann Johnson, signed the permission slip but remained with Collier for some time after objecting to being followed by an officer. Johnson eventually left the chamber.
“This is another exercise of authority and power over people of color, over people who resist,” said Collier, who is the former chair of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus. “This exercise, this requirement that we be trailed by DPS officers who could be out there fighting crime is not only a waste of taxpayer dollars, but is also offensive to the dignity of each one of us who has been elected by our constituents to come here and fight.”
Collier’s attention-grabbing move has been applauded by Democrats across the state and country.
“As a former Texas State Rep, let me be clear: LOCKING Rep. Nicole Collier inside the chamber is beyond outrageous,” U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D, Texas) posted on X. “Forcing elected officials to sign ‘permission slips’ and take police escorts to leave? That’s not procedure. That’s some old Jim Crow playbook.”
Democratic state senator Roland Gutierrez, who visited Collier in the chamber, posted a video of a group of supporters gathered inside the Texas Capitol building that was chanting, “Let her out.”
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