Texas Republicans insisted that Democrats have around-the-clock police escorts to ensure they wouldn’t leave again.

"They said it's a felony for me to do this. Apparently I can't be on the floor or in the bathroom," Nicole Collier said.

Texas Republicans are likely to pass their redistricting plans on Wednesday following weeks of Democrat protests

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.

Activists protest the confinement of Rep. Nicole Collier (D-Fort Worth) outside the House Chamber at the Texas Capitol Austin, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. Rep. Collier has not left the House floor after refusing to have a DPS escort in order to do so.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris personally reached out to Texas State Rep. Nicole Collier as she continued to be confined inside the state Capitol after refusing a demand from the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives to sign a permission ...

Other Texas Democrats, including from DFW, joined Rep. Nicole Collier after they tore up their “permission slips” to leave the chamber.