Yes, Texas Representative Nicole Collier Was Under “House Arrest” in the Texas Capitol

Texas Democratic State Representative Nicole Collier made national headlines this week when, after she returned to her state to vote against the GOP’s farcical mid-cycle gerrymander, she rebelled at the idea that she could leave the Austin statehouse only with a permission slip and a police escort—to make sure she didn’t flee Texas or deny the House a quorum again. She was the only Democrat who refused to sign what House Speaker Dustin Burrows required in exchange for their freedom. Instead, she stayed in the capitol and slept at her desk for two nights, in a sleep mask, a hair bonnet, and a blanket.

Things got worse. On Wednesday, Collier joined a Democratic National Committee press call—from a women’s restroom off the House floor—to discuss California Democrats’ attempt to retaliate against the Texas GOP’s power grab, by carving out more blue seats. California Governor Gavin Newsom and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker also joined the call. DNC chair Ken Martin introduced them as “three leaders who are using every single tool in their toolbox to fight back in this moment.” Collier told the group, “I’m still under house arrest, confined to a bathroom right now.” The Fort Worth representative said the state GOP’s gerrymander “will prevent Black and brown individuals from selecting the candidates of their choice because they’re cracking and packing these districts.” She went on: “Today I woke up with a ‘fuck around and find out’ attitude and I’m gonna continue that throughout my service.”

A few minutes later, she interrupted the call to say, “Sorry, I have to leave. They said it’s a felony for me to do this. Apparently, I can’t be on the floor or in the bathroom.” Addressing someone off camera, she said, “You told me I was only allowed to be here in the bathroom.” Then she returned to the call. “Bye everybody. I’ve got to go.”

Annals of authoritarianism, part… I’ve lost count.

Her Democratic counterparts were at a loss for words—almost. “Representative Collier in the bathroom has more dignity than Donald Trump in the Oval Office,” Booker said. In the background, Newsom agreed: “There’s nothing normal about this. This should make everybody’s blood boil.”

But the whole contretemps was a little murky: What felony could she be committing on a DNC conference call? Meanwhile, Texas journalists have debated whether it’s fair to say she was under “house arrest”—Collier left the Capitol on Wednesday—during her ordeal. But attorney Harry Litman says Collier’s detention violated her civil rights. “Collier has the law on her side, the courts in her corner, and the images of her ‘detention’ circulating widely,” he wrote. “[GOP House Speaker Dustin] Burrows has…a pledge form and a police escort fantasy…. Dustin Burrows, call your lawyer.”

Collier has indeed filed a lawsuit challenging the House leadership’s ability to detain her unless she agreed to a police escort.

The 52-year-old Democrat and lawyer, in her eighth term, broke down the details of her ordeal in a telephone conversation after she got home on Thursday. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

—Joan Walsh

Joan Walsh: Who were you talking to off camera on the DNC call when you said, “You told me I was only allowed to be here in the bathroom.”

Nicole Collier: [It was] House administration chair Charlie Geren. He has control over the facilities, the building, in terms of who has access to the floor and how far you can go. And so he was charged with the house arrest issues, and he was the one who would give authority to where people can go. And he had told me that being under house arrest, I could be on the House floor, I had access to the women’s restroom, which has a lounge area, and then I had access to the members’ lounge, which is where you could eat. And so he said that I could stay within those areas. I couldn’t even go to the foyer before you entered the floor, and I wasn’t able to go to the area they call the back hall.

JW: You were not able to do any of that?

NC: I was not able to do that. They have the sergeants at the door watching you. They literally had [Department of Public Safety] troopers at the door all night to make sure I didn’t leave. So I was just using the space that I was given [to do the Zoom call]. I was in a tight corner in the lounge area, in the women’s bathroom, the camera was pointing towards me. You couldn’t even see people open the door to the bathroom. Then some Republican women started coming in, and I noticed that they were just parading in one by one, and that’s not usual. And I was like, wait a minute, something’s going on. I’m waiting for my turn [on the Zoom call]. My time to speak came up, and [Democratic caucus] chair Gene Wu started sending me text messages, but I couldn’t read them because I was actually speaking.

So in the time that I was speaking, apparently, Charlie Geren told Gene that I could do the video in the back hall. So then Charlie came in and said, “Nicole, you’re going to have to stop. You’re committing a felony, and I’ve got two complaints against you, from women that have to use the restroom, that you’re in here filming.” Now, there is a law, and I agree with this law, about invasive recording. You’re not allowed to record somebody without their consent, with the intent to publish it.

JW: Right. Which you were not doing.

NC: In fact, you couldn’t even see them. You only saw me.

JW: So, it was Geren himself who poked his head into the women’s bathroom?

NC: Oh, yeah. But that’s how limited the view was, because the angle that he peeked in, he could only see me. I said, “Charlie, what was this about?”He goes, “I gave you permission [to use the back hall].” I said, “I was in the middle of the interview. I could not have known that you gave me permission.” And so then, later on, after I cooled down, he said, “Nicole, we had two Republican women complain. And if they would have pressed it, I would have to have you arrested.”

JW: Speaking of arrested, there seems to be a debate over whether you were actually under “house arrest” after you refused to sign a permission slip and agree to police surveillance. Texas Monthly writer Christopher Hooks, who in fairness calls himself the “Lege pedant,” like he’s an annoying, overzealous stickler for rules, insists you weren’t under house arrest: Legislators can be arrested any time if they’re leaving the Capitol to avoid quorum, he says, under House rules. Can you respond to that, because you did say it was house arrest?

NC: Our House rules don’t provide for that. And it’s more than surveillance. The Republicans have been getting hammered by their constituency, their base, saying that they should have arrested Democrats who fled. The way that they tried to appease them is they came up with this concept of these permission slips. The permission slip read, “I agreed to show up on Wednesday for the legislative session under the condition that I will be released into custody of the Department of Public Safety.” There was nothing about surveillance. It said “released into custody.” Why would I willingly agree?

Our House rules say when you do a call of the House [before a vote] that means DPS is directed to find you and bring you to the Capitol. It doesn’t say that they trail you, and monitor your comings and goings, while you’re gone. That exceeds the call of the House. [Indeed, some DPS troopers had to drive hours across the Lone Star State, to accompany Democrats home to districts far from Austin.] So you gave up your rights by signing this permission slip. I was not permitted to leave.

Let me tell you a little bit more. So when I was there, I sat there, other members came to me, and they were furious when they realized what was going on. One wanted to file a legal action to stop it, but a lawyer told her [she wouldn’t have a strong case because] she willingly signed it. And she said, “Well, I signed it under duress. I was forced to do it, because that was the only way for me to be free.”

JW: Another thing the Texas Monthly writer said: “I am a little surprised it was Collier. She has a reputation for being smart and diligent, with a good mind for policy, especially in criminal justice. She’s not one of the louder or more rebellious Democrats.”

NC: He would not have expected me to refuse to sign a permission slip?

JW: Yeah, you’re not one of the rabble-rousers. It’s a dichotomy in his mind that you couldn’t both be smart and sober and serious about your work but also decide “this is a violation of my rights and my constituents’ rights, and I’m going to go to the mat over it.” Anyway, that’s my editorializing

NC: I couldn’t have said it better myself. That’s crazy. It’s crazy.

JW: So we all know these maps will pass, we’ve always known. What do you think you’ve accomplished for the greater good, by leaving Texas, and then by staying under “house arrest”?

NC: I think it’s waking people up. [The GOP] base is saying, be more and more controlling and punishing. I think even moderate Republicans are starting to see, “Hey, wait a minute, you’re going too far. I like my liberty, I want my freedom, and I see it eroding little by little with these tactics.” You know, when I was on the House floor, typically there’s a live feed of the floor 24 hours a day. When I was locked up, so to speak, they did not record me on the floor. So you couldn’t see [my colleagues] walking in. The night when my colleagues came in, there was a whole line of DPS officers and special agents lined up on the floor because they were charged to follow the other members.

You heard about [Austin Representative] Sheryl Cole almost getting arrested? Her DPS escort couldn’t keep up with her on a walk [in her neighborhood]. She was in his custody. So it’s not just surveillance. They’re not just trailing the members. It’s custody. They’re actually responsible for making sure that they come back, so that means they can’t lose track of you. That’s why the man was like, “I’ll have to arrest you or take you in if you don’t let me keep up with you.” [Cole is 61.]

JW: Well, you’ve given me much more time than I asked for. Is there anything we haven’t talked about that you would want to mention?

NC: No, and I’m sorry if I rambled…

JW: No, not at all…

NC: I’m trying to decompress and I’m just real emotional. I woke up this morning angry. Angry. I was like, I didn’t even get to take a shower. I asked someone, “Can I take a shower?” And he said, “Well, the speaker has two showers, but I doubt his wife would let you use them.” And I said, DPS has showers, maybe I can go there. He says “No, that’s in a whole different building.” And so no shower, no cot.