She’s having a Capitol sleepover.
Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier (D) slept in the House chamber Monday into Tuesday after refusing to accept a state trooper escort, calling herself a “political prisoner.”
Republicans required their Democratic peers to have an escort to ensure they returned to the chamber on Wednesday following their two-week venture outside the state to thwart a GOP redistricting effort.
“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, who is from Fort Worth, said in a statement, per NBC News.
She accused Republicans of implementing a “surveillance protocol” and posted an image of her kicking back on her swivelchair in the chamber with a sleeping mask and blanket to catch some Zs.
Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott (R) had called a special session this month to pass flood relief aid and redraw the state’s congressional district lines to give them a five-seat pickup opportunity.
In response, 57 Democrats fled the state, starting on Aug. 3, to scuttle the special session. Under Texas law, 100 of the legislature’s 150 members are required to be present to allow for a quorum.
On Monday, Texas Democrats returned to the state to allow a second special session to take place.
They claimed that the decision to end their self-imposed exile was made because they succeeded in quashing the first special session, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) maneuvered to potentially neutralize Texas’ line-drawing venture.
Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) filed a lawsuit against the runaways.
Now that the runaway Dems have returned, Speaker Dustin Burrows (R) required them to sign documentation pledging to be present for the Wednesday session.
“Members who have not been present until today for whom arrest warrants were issued will be granted written permission to leave only after agreeing to be released into the custody of a designated DPS officer appointment,” Burrows said.
All of the Dems agreed, except Collier.
“I will not agree to be in [Texas Department of Public Safety] DPS custody. I am not a criminal. I am exercising my right to resist and oppose the decisions of our government. So, this is my form of protest,” Collier said.
She is in her seventh term in the Texas House chamber and previously led the Texas Legislative Black Caucus.
Democrats have vowed to challenge the Texas GOP’s redistricting effort in court. States typically redraw their congressional districts after the census each decade, though mid-decade redistricting is not entirely unprecedented.
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