State Rep. Nicole Collier of Fort Worth yesterday said she will remain locked in the Austin statehouse chamber until the House reconvenes on Wednesday morning. Via NBC News:
She is making the move after she refused conditions set by Republican leaders that would have required her to sign off on a law enforcement escort before being allowed to go home after Monday's session.
It's another dramatic turn in the two-week saga involving Texas state House Democrats who fled to other states earlier this month, with most of them taking refuge in Illinois. The plan denied a quorum for Republicans to move forward during a special legislative session with a redraw of Texas' congressional map, an act aimed at padding the GOP's U.S. House majority.
“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," Collier said in a statement that called her a "political prisoner" for refusing Republican "surveillance protocol."