In a bold move, Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier, from AUSTIN, Texas, decided against attending sessions at the Texas state Capitol for two weeks. Now, she’s taking a stand and remains there, with her fellow Democrats rallying behind her.
Collier was part of a group of Democrats who temporarily left Texas, heading to Democratic strongholds in states like California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York. This action was aimed at delaying the Republican-majority Legislature from approving new congressional district maps advocated by President Donald Trump. On their return this Monday, Republicans demanded continuous police oversight to prevent another departure that might derail the House vote scheduled for Wednesday on the fresh political boundaries.
However, Collier refused to complete what her party termed a “permission slip,” essentially a brief form permitting Department of Public Safety officers to monitor them. Instead, she stayed overnight in the House chamber, setting up a livestream, while outside, her Democratic peers were shadowed by plainclothes officers to their workplaces and residences.
Rep. Linda Garcia from the Dallas area recounted her experience of a three-hour drive home from Austin, with an officer in tow. During her grocery trips, that officer mimicked her movements down each aisle, pretending to shop. Speaking to The Associated Press by phone, Garcia remarked on the presence of two vehicles with plainclothes officers stationed outside her house.
“It’s a weird feeling,” she said. “The only way to explain the entire process is: It’s like I’m in a movie.”
This directive for trooper engagement, issued by Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows, marks a heightened phase of the redistricting conflict spreading nationwide. With Trump encouraging GOP state leaders to shape the map favorably for the 2026 midterms, aiming to consolidate the GOP’s narrow House control, Democrats are nationally mounting a counteroffensive.
Other Democrats join the protest
In solidarity, House Minority Leader Gene Wu from Houston and state Rep. Vincel Perez from El Paso spent the night with Collier, who serves a district with a predominantly minority population in Fort Worth.
On Tuesday, more Democrats returned to the Capitol to tear up the slips they had signed and stay on the House floor, which has a lounge and restrooms for members.
Dallas-area Rep. Cassandra Garcia Hernandez, called their protest a “slumber party for democracy” and said Democrats were holding strategy sessions on the floor.
“We are not criminals,” Houston Rep. Penny Morales Shaw said.
Collier said having officers shadow her was an attack on her dignity and an attempt to control her movements.
Republican leader says Collier ‘is well within her rights’
Burrows brushed off Collier’s protest, saying he was focused on important issues, such as providing property tax relief and responding to last month’s deadly floods. His statement Tuesday morning did not mention redistricting and his office did not immediately respond to other Democrats joining Collier.
“Rep. Collier’s choice to stay and not sign the permission slip is well within her rights under the House Rules,” Burrows said.
Under those rules, until Wednesday’s scheduled vote, the chamber’s doors are locked, and no member can leave “without the written permission of the speaker.”
To do business Wednesday, 100 of 150 House members must be present.
The GOP wants 5 more seats in Texas
The GOP plan is designed to send five additional Republicans from Texas to the U.S. House. Texas Democrats returned to Austin after Democrats in California launched an effort to redraw their state’s districts to take five seats from Republicans.
Democrats also said they were returning because they expect to challenge the new maps in court.
Republicans issued civil arrest warrants to bring the Democrats back after they left the state Aug. 3, and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott asked the state Supreme Court to oust Wu and several other Democrats from office. The lawmakers also face a fine of $500 for every day they were absent.
How officers shadowed Democratic lawmakers
Democrats reported different levels of monitoring. Houston Rep. Armando Walle said he wasn’t sure where his police escort was, but there was still a heightened police presence in the Capitol, so he felt he was being monitored closely.
Some Democrats said the officers watching them were friendly. But Austin Rep. Sheryl Cole said in a social media post that when she went on her morning walk Tuesday, the officer following her lost her on the trail, got angry and threatened to arrest her.
Garcia said her 9-year-old son was with her as she drove home, and each time she looked in the rearview mirror, she could see the officer close behind. He came inside a grocery store where she shopped with her son.
“I would imagine that this is the way it feels when you’re potentially shoplifting and someone is assessing whether you’re going to steal,” she said.
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Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas, and Cline reported from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
