{"id":2476518,"date":"2025-08-19T20:32:01","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T00:32:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-democrat-locked-in-state-capitol-after-refusing-to-agree-to-law-enforcement-escort\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T20:32:45","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T00:32:45","slug":"texas-democrat-locked-in-state-capitol-after-refusing-to-agree-to-law-enforcement-escort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-democrat-locked-in-state-capitol-after-refusing-to-agree-to-law-enforcement-escort\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Democrat Locked in State Capitol After Refusing to Agree to Law Enforcement Escort"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftexas-democrat-locked-in-state-capitol-after-refusing-to-agree-to-law-enforcement-escort%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2476518&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Texas legislature is currently in a standoff involving Democratic lawmakers who are resisting efforts to compel their presence during a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-legislators-commence-special-session\/\" title=\"Texas legislators commence special session\">special session called<\/a> to approve new <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >congressional district maps<\/a>.Rep. Nicole Collier, a 12-year veteran, chose to stay locked inside the Texas Capitol rather than leave under escort by the Department of Public Safety, as required by Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows. This escort condition was imposed on Democrats who had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-house-reaches-quorum-ending-38-day-holdout\/\" title=\"Texas ... reaches quorum, ending 38-day holdout\">arrest warrants issued<\/a> during their attempt to block the redistricting vote by denying the House a quorum. Collier refused to sign the permission slip for the escort, calling herself &#8220;stubborn&#8221; and rejecting the control implied by the requirement. By Tuesday, more Democratic lawmakers joined her, tearing up their signed slips and choosing to stay inside the Capitol. Earlier, Texas Democrats had fled to other states to avoid the redistricting vote, which Republicans view as crucial to gaining up to five congressional seats and perhaps maintaining control of Congress after the 2026 elections. Speaker Burrows stated that requiring escorts adheres to House rules and emphasized his focus on advancing legislation. The Democrats&#8217; refusal to leave is a continuation of their strategy to block the GOP&#8217;s redistricting efforts by denying a quorum.  <\/p>\n<div id=\"ld-4686-3758\"><\/div>\n<p><script>(function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:14832835450050406,size:[0, 0],id:\"ld-4686-3758\"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src=\"https:\/\/cdn2.decide.dev\/_js\/ajs.js\";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,\"script\",\"ld-ajs\");<\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Texas legislature is going from not being able to keep its Democratic lawmakers to not being able to get them out of the Capitol.<\/p>\n<p>A Texas state lawmaker from Fort Worth chose to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virtue-signaling-elites-who-dont-value-chinas-abuses-dont-really-value-human-rights\/\" title=\"Virtue-Signaling Elites Who Don\u2019t VALUE China\u2019s Abuses Don\u2019t Really VALUE Human Rights\">remain locked inside<\/a> the building Monday, rather than leave with a law enforcement escort to ensure she returns to work Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>And by Tuesday, she had more lawmakers joining her.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/politics-news\/texas-democratic-legislator-stay-state-capitol-refusing-law-enforcemen-rcna225730\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NBC News<\/a>, self-styled &ldquo;political prisoner&rdquo; Rep. Nicole Collier, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texasrepcollier.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">12-year veteran<\/a> of the legislature, declined to go along with the condition that she accept an escort from the Department of Public Safety in order to leave the House chamber on Monday.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Texas Democrat State Rep. Nicole Collier spends the night in the Legislature protesting police shadowing, &ldquo;permission slips&rdquo; in redistricting battle<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VqEVtb8J4C\">https:\/\/t.co\/VqEVtb8J4C<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MK09ysxY4D\">pic.twitter.com\/MK09ysxY4D<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; The Washington Times (@WashTimes) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WashTimes\/status\/1957884163031191739?\">August 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The condition was imposed by Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows on all Texas Democratic lawmakers who&rsquo;d had arrest warrants issued for them during their effort to deny the House a quorum to vote on new congressional district lines before the 2026 midterms.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans could gain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/texas-house-blocks-pay-awol-dems-abbott-warns-gop-go-even-bigger\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">five congressional seats<\/a> from the redistricting, which could well be enough for the GOP to retain control of Congress after the elections.<\/p>\n<p>Collier was the only one who refused to accept the escort.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I guess I&rsquo;m being stubborn, like they are,&rdquo; she said, according to NBC. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m not signing the piece of paper to make them feel good so they can have something in their hand as evidence of their control.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Burrows, perhaps not surprisingly, doesn&rsquo;t see it that way at all. In fact, in a statement, he all but dismissed questions on the topic, according to NBC.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Rep. Collier&rsquo;s choice to stay and not sign the permission slip is well within her rights under the House Rules,&rdquo; the statement said, NBC reported.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I am choosing to spend my time focused on moving the important legislation &hellip; the results Texans care about.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>As most Americans who follow politics have heard, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/texas-democrats-consider-fleeing-state-bid-block-republican-redistricting-efforts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Texas Democrats decamped<\/a> at the end of July to Democrat-run states like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/illinois-governor-protecting-runway-texas-dems-stumped-nbc-host-calls-hypocrisy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Illinois<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/massachusetts-dem-governor-threatens-redistrict-response-texas-just-one-big-problem\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Massachusetts<\/a> for two weeks in an effort to stave off a redistricting vote during a special session called by Gov. Greg Abbott.<\/p>\n<p>The effort was successful to some extent; the special session never managed to convene because the House lacked a quorum without the Democrats. But, as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trump-delivers-bad-news-absconded-texas-democrats-cant-just-sit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">redistricting fight<\/a> reverberated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/unexpected-twist-schwarzenegger-openly-moves-stop-gavin-newsom-will-star-campaign-stop-leftist-darling\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">across state lines<\/a>, Abbott simply called another special session.<\/p>\n<p>Escorts for Democrats by officers of the state Department of Public Safety were Burrows&rsquo; way to guarantee there would be no repeat of the mass exodus before the beginning of the next special session. That&rsquo;s scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/texas\/news\/texas-democrat-nicole-collier-locked-inside-house-chamber-returning-texas-capitol\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CBS News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, other Democrats who&rsquo;d signed slips accepting the escorts returned to the Capitol, tore up the slips, and vowed to stay as well.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Democratic Reps. Plesa and Hernandez tear up their permission slips before the group enters the chamber for the night. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/txlege?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#txlege<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/y1sBptZiI9\">pic.twitter.com\/y1sBptZiI9<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Taylor Goldenstein (@taygoldenstein) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/taygoldenstein\/status\/1957918229546037448?\">August 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Who&rsquo;s House?&rdquo; Rep. Mihaela Plesa called, as a small but raucous crowd of supporters responded, &ldquo;Our House!&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Never let them forget that,&rdquo; Plesa said.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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On Monday, a Texas state representative from Fort Worth decided to stay inside the building instead of leaving with a law enforcement escort required for her return on Wednesday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2476519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Nicole-Collier-Texas-House-battle.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4912,46496,3694],"class_list":["post-2476518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-democrat","tag-state-capitol","tag-texas"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Nicole-Collier-Texas-House-battle.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2476518"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476518\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2476522,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2476518\/revisions\/2476522"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2476519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2476518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2476518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2476518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}