Texas Democratic lawmakers that had fled the state in defiance of Republican-led efforts to redraw the state’s Congressional districts remain under constant law enforcement surveillance when outside the State Capitol, with one Democratic lawmaker calling it a “pure form of bullying.”
“No matter where (he) went, the black-suited man followed him,” wrote The Washington Post’s Molly Hennessy-Fiske, reporting Wednesday on Texas Democratic House Rep. Suleman Lalani’s experience in being tailed by law enforcement.
“When he headed to lunch at the eatery inside the Capitol – downing a chili dog and bowl of tortilla soup – the man sat a couple tables away. When he went to fetch dirty laundry from his nearby hotel room, the man followed in a gray pickup.”
After having fled the state for two weeks to oppose Republicans’ efforts to gerrymander the state and bolster GOP numbers in Congress, Texas Democrats were presented with an ultimatum upon their return: agree to be under constant surveillance when outside the State Capitol, or be subject to arrest.
All but one Democrat – Texas House Rep. Nicole Collier – agreed to the demand, including Lalani, who recounted his experience under constant surveillance with The Washington Post.
“It was just thrown in our face,” Lalani said of the demand to agree to be under constant surveillance, a demand he said he regretted agreeing to. “This is not freedom.”
A medical doctor specializing in geriatrics, Lalani said that an officer with the Texas Department of Public Safety followed him as he visited patients at a nursing home near Houston, when he would stop at gas stations, and as he went to dine at a local restaurant with family.
Lalani ultimately returned to the State Capitol Wednesday morning, but still faces fines of up to $500 a day for his time absent from the Legislature, and faces additional legal action from state officials, with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton having threatened to prosecute all dissenting Democrats.
Texas Republicans’ plans to redraw the state’s district came directly from the White House and President Donald Trump, who, in addition to advocating for abnormal redistricting, has also pushed to ban mail-in voting for the upcoming midterm elections. California has responded in kind with its own redistricting plan to bolster Democratic numbers in Congress, kicking off what some have dubbed as the ‘redistricting wars.’
