Written by Jim Vertugno, Sara Cline, and John Hanna for the Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — For two weeks, Democratic state representative Nicole Collier declined to visit the Texas state capitol. She is refusing to go, and other Democrats are joining her in protest.
In an effort to postpone the Republican-controlled Legislature’s ratification of President Donald Trump’s proposed altered congressional districts, Collier was one of scores of Democrats who fled the state for the Democratic hotspots of California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York. Republicans demanded that Democrats have round-the-clock police escorts when they returned on Monday in order to prevent them from leaving and disrupting Wednesday’s scheduled House vote on a new political map.
Related Articles
-
Trump thinks owning a piece of Intel would be a good deal for the US. Here s what to know
-
First domino in national redistricting fight likely to fall with Texas GOP poised for vote on maps
-
New work rules could deny food stamps to thousands of veterans
-
Howie Carr: Trump broke the Dems!
-
Pure partisan advantage : Trump leverages presidential power to help his party in the 2026 midterms
However, Collier refused to sign what Democrats referred to as the half-page paperwork granting Department of Public Safety troopers authority to follow them as they left the House chamber. She set up a video on the House floor on Monday night and Tuesday while her Democratic colleagues outside were being followed to their homes and offices by plainclothes officers.
Dallas region According to Representative Linda Garcia, she was followed by an officer for three hours as she traveled home from Austin. She claimed that he accompanied her down every aisle while she pretended to shop for groceries. Two unmarked cars with officers inside were parked outside her house while she talked on the phone with The Associated Press.
“It’s a strange sensation,” she stated. I feel like I’m in a movie, which is the best way to describe the entire process.
Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows ordered the trooper assignments, which were just one more step in a nationwide redistricting dispute.Democrats around the country have united in attempts to retaliate against Trump’s efforts to pressure GOP state officials to slant the 2026 midterm map further in his favor in order to maintain the GOP’s narrow House control.
Collier, who represents a minority-majority district in Fort Worth, hosted state Representative Vincel Perez of El Paso and House Minority Leader Gene Wu of Houston for the night.
More Democrats came back to the Capitol on Tuesday to tear up the slips they had signed and remain on the House floor, which features member restrooms and a lounge.
Rep. Cassandra Garcia Hernandez of the Dallas region referred to their demonstration as a “slumber party for democracy” and claimed that Democrats were using the floor for strategy meetings.
Rep. Penny Morales Shaw of Houston stated that we are not criminals.
Collier claimed that having police follow her was an attempt to control her behavior and an assault on her dignity.
Collier’s objection was dismissed by Burrows, who claimed he was more concerned with pressing matters like addressing last month’s catastrophic floods and lowering property taxes. Redistricting was not mentioned in his Tuesday morning message, and his staff did not immediately address other Democrats joining Collier.
According to Burrows, Rep. Collier is perfectly within her rights under House Rules to remain and not sign the permission form.
According to those regulations, the chamber’s doors are shut until the scheduled vote on Wednesday, and no member may leave without the speaker’s written consent.
On Wednesday, all 150 members of the House must be present in order to conduct business.
The goal of the GOP plan is to elect five more Republicans from Texas to the U.S. House. Following California Democrats’ attempt to redesign their state’s districts in an attempt to unseat Republicans in five seats, Texas Democrats returned to Austin.
Democrats added that they were coming back because they want to file a legal challenge to the updated maps.
After the Democrats departed the state on August 3, Republicans obtained civil arrest warrants to bring them back, and Republican Governor Greg Abbott petitioned the state Supreme Court to remove Wu and a number of other Democrats from office. A $500 charge is also imposed on the lawmakers for each day of absence.
Various degrees of monitoring were described by Democrats. Rep. Armando Walle of Houston said he felt like he was being watched closely since he didn’t know where his police escort was, but the Capitol still had a high police presence.
According to other Democrats, the officers observing them were cordial. However, Austin Representative Sheryl Cole claimed on social media that the cop who was after her lost her on the trail, became enraged, and threatened to arrest her on Tuesday when she went for her daily walk.
Garcia claimed that she drove home with her 9-year-old son in tow and that she could always see the officer in the rearview mirror. He entered a supermarket where she and her son were shopping.
She stated, “I would imagine that this is how it feels when you’re on the verge of stealing and someone is determining whether you’re going to steal.”
Cline reported from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, while Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas.
