AUSTIN (Nexstar) – The Texas House is adjourned until Wednesday morning. But one State Rep. is staying in the chamber, staging a protest that’s gaining attention.
Before the House adjourned Monday, House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, ordered the doors to the chamber to be locked. He said that members needed written permission to leave the chamber. But he added an extra step for Democrats who broke quorum and had arrest warrants issued. The Speaker said those members would be granted written permission to leave only after agreeing to be released into the custody of a designated Department of Public Safety officer who will ensure they return to the House on Wednesday at 10 a.m.
State Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, refused and was not allowed to leave.
“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 stated in a news release.
Texas Democrats highlighted her protest, sending out a news release stating that Collier was locked in the chamber, “detained as political prisoner.” The Texas House Democratic Caucus set up a live stream of Collier remaining on the House floor and offered reporters live interviews with the representative.
At one point, supporters gathered outside the chamber chanting, “Let her go!” A social media post by the Texas House Democrats showed video a group of activists appearing to be arrested outside the House chamber.
Other Texas Democrats have taken to social media, posting pictures and videos with Collier to show support.
Late Monday, NBC News reporter Ryan Chandler reported that Collier had been told she can leave the House floor to go to her office, which is located in another part of the Capitol. She reportedly cannot leave the building without a DPS escort.
Early into Collier’s protest, the Texas House committee on redistricting voted out of committee a new version of a bill with proposed new congressional maps. The committee vote sets the stage for the full House to consider the redistricting legislation, where it is expected to pass.
The maps are designed to boost Republican representation in the Texas congressional delegation. The push for the redistricting legislation comes after President Donald Trump called on Texas leaders to redraw voting lines to gain five Republican seats in Congress during the mid-term elections.
State Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, defended the plan to boost Republican representation.
“The U.S. Supreme Court… says that jurisdictions may engage in constitutional political gerrymandering, recognizing that politics and political considerations are inseparable from districting and apportionment,” Hunter said before Monday’s committee vote.
The maps will likely push out Congressman Marc Veasey, a Democrat who represents the area that includes much of Collier’s state house district. Collier believes the maps will have a negative impact on her constituents.
“My community is majority-minority, and they expect me to stand up for their representation. When I press that button to vote, I know these maps will harm my constituents,” Collier stated in a news release.
“My constituents sent me to Austin to protect their voices and rights,” Collier added.
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