‘I still have to fight,’ says Fort Worth lawmaker confined to TX Capitol
Rep. Nicole Collier’s desk chair served as her bed Monday night, as she remained locked within the Capitol, unable to leave after refusing to sign a “permission slip” for law enforcement monitoring.
She returned to the Austin building for the first time in about two weeks on Monday with other Democrats who left the Capitol to block a mid-decade congressional redistricting plan. Cheering the end of a first special session without a map passing and California’s plan to redraw its federal map to favor Democrats, the lawmakers vowed to turn their fight to the House floor and likely legal battles.
On Friday, with the majority of House Democrats still away, Republican state lawmakers had passed two motions related to securing a quorum — one of which orders the chamber’s doors locked until a proposed congressional map passes the House.
As the Democrats returned Monday, House Speaker Dustin Burrows told lawmakers that quorum-breaking Democrats who had civil arrest warrants issued to try and compel their return needed to agree in writing to be released into the custody of a Department of Public Safety officer tasked with ensuring their return when the House reconvenes at 10 a.m. Wednesday. The doors of the chamber would stay locked, and only lawmakers with permission could leave, he said.
Collier wasn’t having it.
“I refuse,” she said in a Tuesday morning interview with the Star-Telegram. “I don’t agree with that. I think that that’s just offensive. It’s just crazy to say to a bunch of adults who are also elected officials that they have to get permission to leave the floor.”
So, Collier remained on the floor and hasn’t left the Capitol since. In a text Monday, Collier said she’s prepared to stay until Wednesday when lawmakers gavel back in. A proposed congressional map that advanced out of a House committee Monday is scheduled for a floor debate.
“We see how they rush things through to get what they want,” Collier said. “They don’t care what the public thinks. They don’t care if you oppose. They’re going to pass them anyway, because this is what Trump has instructed them to do.”
The map proposed during the first special session positioned Texas to pick up five Republican seats in Congress, as backed by President Donald Trump. It was condemned by opponents who said it was racist and would disenfranchise voters.
The House version proposed in this special session has similar boundaries. Mid-decade redistricting is expected to pass as lawmakers meet, given the Republican majority in the state House.
“Even though they will pass, I still have to fight, and I’m going to keep fighting,” Collier said.
A number of Democrats have spoken out in support of Collier’s protest, but it’s also gotten pushback from some Republicans. Other Democrats who returned Monday agreed to a DPS escort so they could leave.
“Way to go Rep Collier!” Rep. Marc Veasey, a Fort Worth Democrat, said in a post on X. “Don’t sign the slip! This is why we need to keep Voting Rights Act! Making someone sign a permission slip is way too antebellum!!! This is ridiculous! And, it’s so natural for them (GOP) to behave this way! It’s systemic in their every day actions!”
Rep. Shelley Luther, a Tom Bean Republican, shared a photo of the “VERY SCARY & THREATENING hall pass” that Democrats who broke quorum had to sign to leave. She said Democrats had already wasted money on their two week “field trip.”
“Now, a Dem is still on the floor because she doesn’t want to sign the form and sleep in a cozy bed tonight,” the post on X reads. “It’s ALWAYS the victim card. Time to redistrict the Texas House seats.”
Collier’s “choice to stay and not sign the permission slip is well within her rights under the House Rules,” Burrows said in a written statement.
“I’m choosing to spend my time focused on moving the important legislation on the call to overhaul camp safety, provide property tax reform and eliminate the STAAR test — the results Texans care about,” Burrows said.
Collier’s protest has also drawn some supporters to the Capitol, including a handful of people who were arrested while protesting Collier’s “detention,” according to the Texas House Democratic Caucus. A video posted by the caucus around 10:50 p.m. Monday shows a state trooper telling the protesters they’re being arrested for trespassing, as the Capitol was closed. DPS did not immediately return an email seeking confirmation and more details.
Ruth Hernandez of Austin was among those at the Capitol on Tuesday backing Collier.
“This is not jail,” Hernandez said. “This is the Capitol.”
Collier said that at first she had to remain in the chamber, but has since been given permission to go to her office with a DPS escort.
A compilation of livestreams of the House chamber posted by the House Democratic Caucus and Collier have captured much of her time locked in, earning tens of thousands of views. Though they are able to leave, she was joined overnight by Rep. Gene Wu, a Houston Democrat, who chairs the caucus and Rep. Vince Perez, an El Paso Democrat.
Collier said staying at the Capitol wasn’t planned, but that she was grateful to have her luggage with her, having arrived in Austin by plane earlier Monday morning. She was among the House Democrats who spent the quorum break in the Chicago area.
There’s a bathroom on the floor that Collier can use, though there’s not a shower.
She has food and was provided a heated blanket by Rep. Charlie Geren, a Fort Worth Republican who chairs the House Administration Committee, Collier said.
A photo posted on Collier’s X page Tuesday morning showed her desk fashioned with a Texas flag, a pillow reading “Y’all Means All,” and a book titled “African Founders: How enslaved people expanded American Ideals.”
“This was my night, bonnet and all, in the #txlege,” the post reads.
But no bed.
With no couch in her office, Collier said she opted to fashion her chair and her deskmate’s chair into a makeshift bed. The lights stayed on overnight, but Wu had an eye mask she could wear to make it dark.
“I did doze off,” Collier said. “I did get some sleep.”
Collier doesn’t know what will come of her confinement to the Capitol. Maybe others will find their voices, she said.
“But this is mine,” Collier said.
And while Collier cannot leave the Capitol without agreeing to a law enforcement monitoring, her Democratic colleagues are being escorted by Texas Department of Public Safety officers.
“They’re not free either,” she said.
This story was originally published August 19, 2025 at 11:45 AM.
