Overnight Protest in Texas Capitol: GOP’s Attempts to Force Round-the-Clock Monitoring of Democratic Legislators
ALSO INSIDE: Good news coming out of Rhode Island!
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Since day one of Trump’s political career, people have desperately attempted to normalize his absurd abuses of power and blatant corruption – and 10 years later, much of corporate media remains a victim of their own attempts to return to a sense of normalcy.
It’s time to stop sane-washing the insanity.
What Happened
A Texas Democrat has been locked in the Texas Capitol, spending the night sleeping on the chamber floor for over 24 hours.
State Rep. Nicole Collier is standing firm and strong in her fight against Republican lawmakers’ attempts to force her to sign a permission slip that would allow a law enforcement officer to follow her 24/7. This tactic is being deployed in order to prevent further delays to the GOP’s questionable efforts to redraw Texas’ U.S. House maps. She is being made to stay in the chamber until she signs the permission slip, which states that returning Democrats must agree to round-the-clock monitoring by Department of Public Safety officers whenever they leave the House floor – an unnecessary, invasive and costly form of surveillance.
Since being told that she could not leave the building without agreeing to a law enforcement escort, Collier has filed a writ of habeas corpus, arguing in her suit that she is effectively in illegal confinement. The Texas Legislature does not have the authority to arrest or force a member who is present to stay in the state Capitol.
Collier, who represents a minority-majority district in Fort Worth, has become a visible face of resistance to the GOP’s redistricting push. “I will not sign away my dignity,” she said, rejecting the idea of allowing Republicans to control her movements.
This is the latest development in a weeks-long fight to prevent the gerrymandering efforts in Texas from taking place. As the Democratic State House reps who left the state return to Austin, Republicans move closer to regaining the numbers needed to make quorum and advance their plans—an outcome that would help fulfill President Donald Trump’s demands.
Ordering Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to provide “around-the-clock escorts” for elected lawmakers is not only an abuse of power, but an incredibly extreme measure that can not be normalized. Normalizing this kind of power grab erodes democracy at its core—and all of us, not just Texans, should be alarmed.
Luckily we have leaders like Rep. Collier, for whom the fight is far from over. Her overnight stay in the chamber has underscored the high stakes of Texas’ ongoing battle over representation and power.
Attempts to Sanewash
Texas Democrat Locked in State Capitol for Refusing Mandatory Escort | TIME
Texas Rep. Nicole Collier Slept on the House Floor in Protest | The New York Times
Far-Right Spin
A federal judge in Rhode Island temporarily blocked the Trump administration from imposing new restrictions on federal funding for domestic violence programs (yes, they are truly the worst).
The administration has been trying to make grants from the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women conditional on programs ending any promotion of diversity, equity, inclusion, or transgender rights. This ruling temporarily prevents those conditions from taking effect while the case proceeds and allows programs to receive the funding they need to continue to operate.
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