Texas Republicans mandated that Democratic lawmakers not be allowed to leave the state house without a permission slip and a police escort.

A Democratic state lawmaker who fled Texas in protest of a GOP redistricting effort is asking a court to let her exit the Capitol, after she was told she needs a police escort to leave the building.

Nicole Collier refused to sign, she was locked in the House chamber, where she stayed for two nights, giving interviews and taking a call from former Vice President Kamala Harris. Texas Republicans insist their redistricting efforts are legal and deny ...

Texas Republicans insisted that Democrats have around-the-clock police escorts to ensure they wouldn’t leave again.

Democratic state Representative Nicole Collier spent the night in the Texas Capitol building rather than agree to a police monitor that is part of a contentious partisan struggle over redrawing voting districts to keep the national House of Representatives in Republican hands.

Texas' Republican-led Legislature is expected to approve new congressional maps that add five new House seats that the GOP could win.

The gambit has triggered a national redistricting war, as governors from both major parties threaten to initiate similar efforts in other states.