Nicole Collier, Texas and Capitol
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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.
Nicole Collier, a state representative, slept in the Capitol rather than agree to police surveillance imposed by Republicans after a Democratic walkout. “I am resisting,” she said.
The Texas State Capitol was cleared of visitors Tuesday evening and closed to the public after a social media threat, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.
The standoff began on Monday, when Democratic members returned to the Capitol after being out of the state for more than two weeks due to a controversial redistricting map. Rep. Collier refused to agree to leave the chamber under the surveillance of the Department of Public Safety.
The Capitol grounds were cleared after 7 p.m. as a demonstration against a GOP redistricting plan was about to begin. Texas lawmakers and staff members were allowed to remain inside the Capitol.
Texas State Representative Nicole Collier has emerged as a key figure in the state’s ongoing electoral map controversy.
Collier is among the Texas House Democrats who broke quorum to block mid-decade congressional redistricting. She and at least 51 other lawmakers left the Capitol to block a map that opponents say would disenfranchise voters and position Republicans to gain five seats in Congress.
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Kamala Harris Praises Nicole Collier as a ‘Hero of This Moment’
Former Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday threw her support behind Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier, who has spent two nights effectively trapped inside the state Capitol after refusing Republican demands that she agree to 24-hour police surveillance.