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A group of Texas House Democrats plan to stage an overnight sit-in at the State Capitol on Tuesday, joining Rep. Nicole Collier in refusing law enforcement escorts required by Republican leaders after they broke quorum to block GOP-drawn congressional maps.
Collier, a seven-term Democrat from Fort Worth, spent Monday night locked in the House chamber after refusing to sign paperwork consenting to a Department of Public Safety (DPS) escort — a condition House Republicans imposed on lawmakers who left the state earlier this month. On Tuesday, colleagues including Reps. Penny Morales Shaw, Rhetta Andrews Bowers, Cassandra Hernandez and Mihaela Plesa announced they would remain overnight in solidarity.
“This is illegitimate, this is a wrongful use of power and I will not condone it,” Shaw told reporters. “I don’t want to be a part of setting a very bad and low precedent for future legislators.”
Lawmakers tear up escort forms
Outside the chamber, several Democrats tore up their permission slips in front of cameras. Bowers called the requirement “a blatant violation of our freedoms,” blasting the policy as a waste of resources.
“Families in the Hill Country who lost everything to devastating floods need our help,” she said. “Instead of providing relief, those dollars are being spent on constant DPS patrols.”
Collier and Rep. Gene Wu chronicled their Capitol stay on social media, posting a video showing how they pushed chairs together to sleep. “We know this is a #riggedredistricting process,” Wu wrote. “Democrats are not giving up!”
Hernandez dubbed the overnight protest a “slumber party for democracy,” saying members would strategize ahead of Wednesday’s debate on the redistricting bill.
Harris offers support
The sit-in drew national attention. Former Vice President Kamala Harris phoned Collier on Tuesday, telling her, “Know that we’re in the rooms with you no matter what. And you have our support,” according to a representative for Harris.
Collier said she refused to be treated like a criminal for exercising her right to resist. “I’m tired of being pushed around and told what to do when I disagree with the actions of our government,” she said. “This is petty and unnecessary. It’s demeaning to me and my community, and I just won’t take it.”
GOP response
House Speaker Dustin Burrows said Collier’s decision was within her rights under House rules, but he dismissed the protest as a distraction. “I am choosing to spend my time focused on moving the important legislation … the results Texans care about,” he said.
The Republican-controlled House is expected to vote Wednesday on the redistricting bill, part of President Donald Trump’s push to add at least five new GOP-leaning seats to Texas’ congressional map.
