Five Democrats are joining Rep. @NicoleCollier95 in refusing a police escort and thus getting confined in the Capitol.

[riversedge]

I am so glad to see Rep.Nicole Collier (D-Fort Worth) get support from her peers.


Five Democrats are joining Rep. @NicoleCollier95
in refusing a police escort and thus getting confined in the Capitol. #txlege

Reps Morales Shaw, Bowers, Garcia Hernandez and Plesa. And Dean Senfronia Thompson.
4:18 PM · Aug 19, 2025

Link to tweet

@MikalaCompton
Rep.Nicole Collier (D-Fort Worth) raises a fist as she greets supporters from inside the House Chamber at the Texas Capitol Tuesday. Rep. Collier spent the night on the House floor and has not left the Chamber after refusing to have a DPS escort in order to do so.

Link to tweet

[SheltieLover]

1. Are there no male Dems?

[Tetrachloride]

2. if i see one, i'll have a donut

[SheltieLover]

3. Me too. I don't have any, but guessing I won't need one.

[berniesandersmittens]

5. Nevertheless, she persisted

These women are persisting.

Solidarity

[SheltieLover]

6. Absolutely!

[niyad]

23. EXACTLY!!!

[chowder66]

14. 2 male reps stayed overnight with Collier.

snip....

[Gene] Wu, from Houston, and state Rep. Vincel Perez, of El Paso, stayed overnight with Collier, who represents a minority-majority district in Fort Worth. Throughout the day, Democrats visited Collier on the floor, which has a lounge and restrooms for members.


https://www.wtoc.com/2025/08/19/texas-democrat-spends-night-legislature-protesting-police-shadowing-redistricting-battle/

[SheltieLover]

30. So glad to hear this! Ty!

I wonder if they also refused to sign?

[LeftInTX]

43. Wu needs to come and go. He has a court case that Abbott filed against him.

And as minority leader, he may also need to come and go from the capitol.

[Cha]

34. Mahalo, Chowder... Reps Gene Wu & Vincent Perez..

[SheltieLover]

41. Mahalo, Cha!

Ahoha.... 🌺

[Cha]

42. Aloha, Sheltie!🌺

[niyad]

24. First thing I noticed.

[Eddie Haskell 60]

39. Talarico

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMwPO9-qQKS/

[Hekate]

4. 🦋 Sisterhood is powerful 🦋

Just one practical question: are they shut off from the restroom?!

[MichMan]

7. Pretty certain there is one in the building

[Hekate]

19. I see the question was answered -- whew

[Paladin]

8. Outstanding move by Texas Democrats.

Eat shit, Greg Abbott.

[Susan Calvin]

9. I still totally fail to understand

How forcing a police escort on them is even legal. And I sure don't understand how keeping them confined is legal.

[lastlib]

11. Rules/laws are for Democrats.......

Repuglikans ignore them---with unfathomable impunity.

[BurnDoubt]

21. YEP!!!!!

I don't want to quibble, but shouldn't there be two more k's in Repuglikkkans?
Just Sayin'.

[lastlib]

36. properly speaking, yes. n/t

[SheltieLover]

31. Yup. Laws are for thee, never me

[lastlib]

10. Shouldn't Americans be flocking to Austin, TX today?

SURROUNDING the capitol building?

If SHE can't get out, THEY shouldn't get out! LOCK THEM IN, or LOCK THEM UP!

[blogslug]

12. They've been live-streaming for the past 11 hours

As of this moment, 8:30PM CST they're still live. I see Rep Nicole Collier and chair Gene Wu right now.

[electric_blue68]

18. Looks live still here at 10:04PM NYC time

[niyad]

25. Who are the uniforms?

[blogslug]

27. Texas Capitol Police maybe?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Capitol_Police

I don't live in Austin so I don't know.

[Rowdyag]

29. DPS troopers

Dept of Public Safety …Highway patrol officers

[niyad]

33. Inside the Capitol?

[FBaggins]

46. Yes - since 1991

Texas used to have a Capitol Security Police Division. But the legislature transfered those duties to the DPS

[groundloop]

13. One dumb ass quesion - why in the hell can't they leave?

I'll admit, I've been busy and haven't been following this real close, but it just seems absolutely asinine that anyone is being confined because they refuse to sign some idiotic piece of paper.

[chowder66]

17. Here's a more in depth overview of what's happening

It may be that they will arrest her... or it may be she is doing this in protest... or both!

After the lawmakers returned to the Texas House, Burrows announced they would each be subject to an around-the-clock police escort to ensure their attendance when the chamber reconvenes on Wednesday morning to vote out the map. He added that Democratic lawmakers would be responsible for any state costs incurred in ensuring their attendance.

.......

Collier slept at her desk on the House floor Monday night and remained there Tuesday, over 24 hours and counting after first arriving, though she said she’d received permission to go to her office in the Capitol. Rep. Gene Wu of Houston, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, and Rep. Vince Perez, D-El Paso, stayed with her overnight, with other Democratic lawmakers and staffers coming by to provide moral support, food, clothes, pillows and other necessities.

All of it was captured on a livestream the House Democratic Caucus set up on the House floor, with up to 50,000 viewers tuning in at one point. On Tuesday, Plesa said that former Vice President Kamala Harris was among those who called Collier to express support for her protest.

.......

The order requiring Democratic lawmakers to keep a police escort is set to expire when the House grants final passage to the congressional map, House Bill 4, later this week.

more......
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/19/nicole-collier-texas-house-dps-escort-redistricting-quorum/

[Rowdyag]

32. But what legal justification?

The Democrats have not done anything illegal.This is absolute BS and over the top… even for hot wheels!! 🤬

[ReRe]

15. I'm so inspired by those Texas Representatives

Six more and they'll have a jury!

[Emile]

16. Can they sue the person who ordered this?

[MichMan]

20. Probably not

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143515462#post7

[struggle4progress]

48. APPLICATION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/texas-democrat-collier-habeas-corpus-petition.pdf

[Sneederbunk]

22. I wondered if she was the only one who refused to sign.

[OldBaldy1701E]

26. Umm, I understand the social optics of this...

However, I am curious as to how this is going to stop the tainted Texas legislature from doing what the orange gibbon asked for.

Or, are they just going to get their way yet again?

[druidity33]

37. Better to

fight and not win than not fight at all? Plus what they (R's in general and in particular Rs in Texas) are doing deserves pushback... there's not much else they can do except publicly shame Republicans for being utter shit-lickers.



Edited to add: I don't think there was ever any doubt this redistricting bill would pass .

[OldBaldy1701E]

38. Yes, they do deserve pushback.

Is this pushback?

I have to agree, there was little doubt. I guess we are not at the tipping point yet.

[Bread and Circuses]

28. All women! 🇺🇸 Brave Patriots!

[Cha]

35. Two Male Reps, too... Eugene Wu & Vincent Periz.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=20573237

[RT Atlanta]

40. Are these Democrats not calling police via 911?

I ask because were I counseling them, one thing is for sure I would be calling 911 and creating a record of the false imprisonment - forcing the issue (even if the cops are knowingly complicit with what abbot is seeking to accomplish and force down peoples' throats).

[LeftInTX]

44. They are free to leave if they sign permission slips agreeing they will be assigned guards to assure that they don't

leave the state.

This is "good trouble", not false imprisonment. There is a difference.

[RT Atlanta]

45. I am struggling to see the difference

(and not trying to argue with you either!)

Assigned a cop handler to make sure you dont leave the state is a lot.

I hope they keep up the good trouble regardless and show the world what a POS the tx republicans are....

[LeftInTX]

47. They are lawmakers and expected to be there. No different than school truancy stuff of the old days.

That is why they left the state. They knew this would happen if they stayed in Texas. This is a civil thing and it's a known part of the job

The guards are gone because the bill passed the house. They said, they would be "free" after the bill passed. (So I think the guards are gone)

Most states have these rules and can be placed in custody for breaking quorum. I don't see how it's imprisonment, she is not charged with or accused of a crime. It's bad optics for the State of Texas, but it's not false imprisonment because it is explicitly in the Texas Statutes. If it wasn't in the statutes, then it would be an issue, but every representative knows this will happen. It's in the Texas code. They know their jobs.


She has the right not do her job that way Texas wants her to, but she has the responsibility to deal with her actions if she doesn't do what the state wants. She chose her constituents over the state, so she paid a price. She's not sitting around crying and feeling sorry for herself. She's not screaming, "Let me go"

BTW: Democrats can do this to Republicans if they want. Oregon was gonna do it, but instead they fired 10 of their GOP senators! I think I would rather be stuck on the floor with a guard for a few days as opposed to losing a representative. And she's a good representative.

[UTUSN]

49. K&R thank you Rosa PARKS