On August 20, 2025, the Texas State Capitol in Austin became the unlikely stage for a dramatic confrontation over voting rights, legislative procedure, and the limits of dissent. Texas Representative Nicole Collier, a Democrat from Fort Worth, found herself at the center of a political firestorm when she was threatened with felony charges and forced to leave a Democratic National Committee (DNC) press call—an incident that has drawn national attention and reignited debates about democracy and representation in the Lone Star State.
Collier was participating in a virtual press call with Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey and California Governor Gavin Newsom, alongside other Democratic Party officials, when the situation escalated. According to reporting from Fox News and statements from Democratic leaders, Collier was told by Capitol authorities that her participation in the call, conducted from a Capitol bathroom, constituted a felony offense. The Texas House of Representatives was, at that very moment, locked in a heated debate over a controversial redistricting bill backed by former President Donald Trump.
"Sorry, I have to leave. They say it's a felony for me to do this, apparently," Collier said abruptly on the call, as documented by both Fox News and DNC social media posts. "I can't be on the floor or in the bathroom. Well, you told me I was only allowed to be here in the bathroom—Sorry everybody, I have to go." The moment was as surreal as it was revealing, laying bare the extraordinary constraints placed on Democratic lawmakers in Texas during the redistricting fight.
Senator Booker, clearly incensed, immediately responded, "That is outrageous. Let me tell you something, Rep. Collier in the bathroom has more dignity than Donald Trump in the Oval Office." Governor Newsom echoed Booker's indignation, nodding in agreement. Booker went on to say, "What they’re trying to do right there is silence an American leader, silence a Black woman, and that is outrageous. What we just witnessed, them trying to shut her down and saying it's illegal for her to be in the bathroom and on this call, this is the lengths that they’re going to in Texas."
The backdrop to this episode is a monthslong standoff over voting rights and political power in Texas. Collier and her fellow Democrats had previously left the state for two weeks, denying the Texas House a quorum and stalling the passage of the redistricting bill. Their absence, a dramatic maneuver designed to block what they saw as an assault on minority voting rights, drew national headlines and the ire of Republican leaders. Governor Greg Abbott and other state officials ordered the arrest of the absent Democrats, threatening to remove them from office if they did not return to fulfill their legislative duties.
When the Democrats eventually returned to Austin earlier in August, they found the Capitol transformed. Security was ramped up. According to Fox News, Texas Department of Public Safety officers shadowed Democratic lawmakers, guarding their offices, trailing them through the building, and even requiring them to sign so-called "permission slips" in order to leave. For Collier, these measures were a bridge too far.
"Over the past month, I have been threatened with fines, surrounded by law enforcement, endured a bomb threat, been confined to the House floor, and now threatened with prosecution simply for telling my constituents the truth," Collier said in a statement distributed by the DNC. Rather than submit to what she described as a "demeaning permission slip" and 24-hour surveillance, Collier chose to remain on the House floor for 48 hours straight, refusing to leave the chamber under such conditions.
During the contentious press call, Collier did not mince words about the stakes. She argued that the Texas redistricting bill violated the federal Voting Rights Act, warning that it would "prevent Black and Brown individuals from selecting the candidates of their choice because they’re cracking and packing these districts." The practice of "cracking" and "packing"—splitting minority communities across districts or concentrating them into a single district to dilute their voting power—has long been a flashpoint in the national debate over gerrymandering and fair representation.
The Republican-led Texas House, undeterred by the Democratic resistance, ultimately approved the new redistricting maps on August 20. The passage of the bill marked a victory for Texas Republicans and their allies, but it also set off a chain reaction beyond the state’s borders. In a move designed to counteract the Texas plan, Governor Newsom and California Democrats announced on August 22 that they would advance a new redistricting map in California, one that could potentially eliminate five Republican congressional seats—effectively negating the gains Texas Republicans hoped to secure through their own redistricting effort. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) quickly released the new California map, signaling a willingness to fight fire with fire in the national battle for control of the House of Representatives.
As the dust settles in Austin, questions linger about the tactics used to maintain legislative order and the limits of dissent in a polarized era. Ken Martin, chair of the DNC, confirmed that Collier "was ordered to leave the call, and threatened with a felony charge if she didn't comply." Collier’s office declined further comment, citing the ongoing House session, while Fox News Digital reported that both Booker and Newsom’s offices did not immediately respond to requests for additional remarks.
The events in Texas have become a flashpoint in a much larger national conversation about democracy, representation, and the rules of engagement in an era of razor-thin political margins. For Democratic lawmakers like Collier, the episode is evidence of what they see as an erosion of basic democratic norms. For their Republican counterparts, the measures taken were necessary to restore order and ensure the legislature could conduct the people’s business.
With both sides digging in and the redistricting battle now spreading to other states, the struggle over who gets to draw the lines—and who gets to speak out—shows no sign of ending soon. The story of Nicole Collier’s forced exit from a bathroom press call may seem bizarre, but it’s a telling snapshot of the state of American politics in 2025: contentious, high-stakes, and, at times, deeply personal.
