Nicole Collier Spent the Night in the State Capitol After Refusing GOP Demands

The Texas state legislature has earned plenty of headlines over the past few months, thanks in large part to a Republican effort to redraw legislative maps in the state ahead of the 2026 midterms. The goal of these efforts is to get Republicans a few more seats in the state through gerrymandering, and it's caused some level of national controversy.

That controversy was heightened after Texas Democrats in the legislature fled the state to prevent the new maps from passing. Now, those Democrats have returned, and Republicans are taking steps to prevent them from leaving again, which is why Rep. Nicole Collier wound up spending the night in the Texas Capitol building. Here's what we know about why she was trapped there.

After Democrats returned to the state, House Speaker Dustin Burrows decided to put constraints on their movements so that they could not sabotage Republican efforts again. Burrows announced that Democrats could only leave the House floor if they received written permission and agreed to be under law enforcement escort until the chamber reconvenes on the morning of Aug. 20, per CNN.

These Democrats will be escorted by the Department of Public Safety around the clock until Aug. 20 in order to ensure that they don't leave the state again. Most Democrats complied with the demands of the Texas Republicans, but Collier refused. As a result, she is confined to the House floor, and can only travel to her office with an escort from a law enforcement officer.

“My constituents sent me to Austin to protect their voices and rights,” Collier explained. “I refuse to sign away my dignity as a duly elected representative just so Republicans can control my movements and monitor me with police escorts. My community is majority-minority, and they expect me to stand up for their representation. 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.”

Nicole's decision not to accept an escort has gone viral online and earned her support from Democrats across the country who argue that her confinement is unjust.

“A true hero, refusing to submit, fighting these fascists by herself if she has to. We are with you, Nicole!” former Texas Representative Beto O'Rourke wrote on social media, celebrating her decision.

The effort to redraw the Texas maps was spurred by President Trump, who urged the state to change their maps to help protect the Republican majority in the House of Representatives. Democratic efforts to leave the state called more attention to the effort, but also required representatives, who do this work part time, to spend weeks out of the state.

Republicans are now on track to pass the new maps, which is highly unusual. Usually, new maps are drawn only every 10 years, following a new census.