Texas, Democrats and the state Capitol
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Democratic Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier has now spent over 24 hours on the Texas House floor in protest after refusing a Republican demand to be placed under the watch of the state Department of Public Safety.
Democratic State Rep. Nicole Collier is hunkering down in the Texas Capitol building in protest of Republican leadership assigning law enforcement officers to monitor the state's Democratic caucus, after dozens fled the state for two weeks in attempts to halt a vote on new congressional maps that would advantage the GOP in next year's elections.
After Democrats returned to the Texas statehouse, Republican leadership assigned law enforcement officers to monitor them to prevent further delays to their plan to redraw congressional voting districts to favor Republicans ahead of the election.
Texas Republicans mandated that Democratic lawmakers not be allowed to leave the state house without a permission slip and a police escort.
State Rep. Nicole Collier said she would not fall in line with the GOP House speaker's requirement that Democratic lawmakers be surveilled by state troopers.
State Rep. Nicole Collier can’t leave the Texas Capitol building because she won’t sign a paper agreeing to a state police escort.
Texas' Republican-led Legislature is expected to approve new congressional maps that add five new House seats that the GOP could win.
The Republican-controlled Texas House is set to pass a new redistricting map on Wednesday. It would most likely result in the GOP gaining five additional seats in Congress. The controversial move has sparked redistricting plans in other states across the country.