AUSTIN — A handful of fellow Democrats joined Fort Worth Rep. Nicole Collier late Tuesday as she waged a second day of a protest from behind the massive double doors of the Texas House.
Collier stayed overnight on the House floor Monday — and appeared poised to do so again with other legislators — after refusing to submit to GOP House Speaker Dustin Burrows' demand that the Texas Democrats who fled the state to break quorum be escorted by state troopers whenever they leave the chamber.
As a result, the lawmaker remained confined to the chamber late Tuesday with permission to go to her office and the restroom but not to leave the Capitol grounds. She said she intends to fight the proposed GOP-led congressional redistricting efforts, even though Democrats concede new maps will likely pass.
"My community is majority-minority, and they expect me to stand up for their representation," she said in a statement issued by the Texas House Democratic Caucus. 'When I press that button to vote, I know these maps will harm my constituents. I won't just go along quietly with their intimidation or their discrimination."
The 52-year-old legislator has taken legal action against the speaker's policy. A lawsuit filed in a Travis County district court late Monday challenged her "illegal confinement" and alleged that the speaker's policy is possibly in breach of the Texas Constitution.
Her lawsuit notes that the state's constitution is clear that a member may be compelled by the sergeant-at-arms to attend a legislative session if he or she is physically absent, according to the lawsuit, which was first reported by The Washington Post.
However, "no such power is conferred on the Legislature to arrest or otherwise compel a member who is currently present (and not absent) to stay," according to the filing.
Burrows responded to Collier's protest in a statement saying, "Rep. Collier's choice to stay and not sign the permission slip is well within her rights under the House Rules." He added that he was spending his time focused on legislation to "overhaul camp safety, provide property tax reform and eliminate the STAAR test — the results Texans care about."
Collier's act of resistance gained national attention, marking a kind of second act to House Democrats' two-week long, out-of-state flight aimed at temporarily derailing the Trump-backed congressional plan that now comes to a vote on the House floor on Wednesday.
Late Tuesday, other Democratic representatives joined Collier — including Mihaela Plesa, of Dallas; Penny Morales Shaw, of Houston; and Cassandra Garcia Hernandez, of Farmers Branch — and tore up their own "permission slips," The Dallas Morning News reported.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DNjqY5OpUGD/ In Fort Worth on Tuesday afternoon, Democratic officials and political activists rallied outside the Tarrant County courthouse in support of Collier, demanding that Burrows "free Nicole."
The group included Fort Worth City Council members Elizabeth Beck, Mia Hall, Chris Nettles and Deborah Peoples; Tarrant County commissioners Alisa Simmons and Roderick Miles Jr.; Fort Worth ISD trustee Wallace Bridges; former City Council member Jared Williams; and Candace Sublett of the Tarrant County Democratic Party.
Speakers during the rally said Burrows treated Collier "like a runaway slave" by attempting to monitor her whereabouts. They said the effort to track Democrats who broke quorum and adopt new congressional district maps was an attack on Black and brown voters across the state, and voters must stand in opposition.
"We have a president and an administration that are aimed at advancing the call of white Christian nationalism, and we cannot, and we should not, and we will not stand for it," Peoples said.
Hall urged those opposed to the redistricting plan to vote in the 2026 elections — not just for state positions but for city and county as well.
"I'm not telling you which way to vote … but I am telling you to be aware because I think it is so tempting, and it's such a slippery slope to get caught into a cycle of 'I vote this way' or 'I vote that way,' and ignore the infringement and the encroachment of other citizens' rights," Hall said.
Those gathered also urged Tarrant County residents to call or email Burrows and other state officials to voice solidarity with Collier and denounce the redistricting effort.
Most of the 50-plus Democratic lawmakers who broke quorum during the summer's first special session returned to Austin on the first day of the new special session on Monday, giving Republican leaders the needed quorum of votes to press ahead with the redistricting and other priorities of Gov. Greg Abbott.
The Fort Worth lawmaker's protest, prompted by her surprise refusal to sign what she said amounted to a permission slip, could continue indefinitely as long as Burrow's law enforcement escort policy remains in force.
"I don't know how long I will be here," Collier told the Fort Worth Report on the first day of her protest.
Collier has the option of sleeping in the House chamber or going to her office. On her first night, The Washington Post reported, Collier pushed two chairs together on the House floor, donning an eye mask.
This was my night, bonnet and all, in the #txlege. #thisisme pic.twitter.com/46YgqbMUk8
— Nicole Collier (@NicoleCollier95) August 19, 2025
Her lawsuit notes that because Collier is present at the Capitol, "her appearance need not, and cannot, be compelled" under the Texas Constitution.
In contrast to the unified Democratic support, some skeptical Republicans decried the stand-off as "a publicity stunt" and again lambasted the now-ended Democratic walkout as an extreme waste of taxpayer money.
"I respect Rep. Collier," said Rep. David Lowe, a Republican from North Richland Hills. "However, I believe it's time to stop with the political dance and start doing the will of the people."
Dave Montgomery is an Austin-based freelance reporter for the Fort Worth Report.
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org.
The Fort Worth Report's Texas legislative coverage is supported by Kelly Hart.
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This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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