Join HOCTX, Austin Justice Coalition, Move Texas Civic Fund, League of Women Voters Austin, 50501 Austin, and local Indivisible groups to protest the absurd and dangerous deployment of DPS to control the movements of our elected representatives and the detainment of Rep Nicole Collier inside House Chambers.
“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 stated in a news release.
WHEN: From 7 - 9:30 PM on Tuesday, August 19
WHERE: 3rd floor of the Texas State Capitol building, outside the House Chamber
WHAT: Rapid Response Protest
This is a rapidly evolving situation, stay tuned for updates from the HOCTX Instagram account.
“My constituents sent me to Austin to protect their voices and rights,” Rep Nicole Collier said to media yesterday. “When I press that button to vote, I know these maps will harm my constituents—I won’t just go along quietly with their intimidation or their discrimination.”
This is a nonviolent protest and solidarity action. HOCTX focuses on using our first amendment constitutional rights and doing our “civic duty” through civic participation. We are wrapping at 9:30 PM so that everyone can safely exit Capitol grounds before the building closes at 10 PM.
KEEP IN MIND: To attend you will be passing through Capitol Security checkpoint metal detectors. Eating and drinking in the rotunda or hallways is OKAY! Eating and drinking inside Committee rooms and the Senate or House chambers or galleries is not allowed by DPS. Soliciting or taking donations on TX Capitol grounds is not allowed by DPS. See a full list of prohibited items.
TRANSPORTATION & PARKING: CAPMETRO bus lines 1, 10, 103, 20, and 3 drop off near the Capitol but buses may stop running before the end of the protest. Plan your trip ahead of time. Please park at the Capitol Visitors Parking Garage (free for the first 2 hours), or park on the street in the neighborhoods west of the TX Capitol using the Park ATX app with discount codes: FREE15ATX1, FREE15ATX2
HOCTX denounces all violations of the constitution and the erosion of our legislative norms regardless of the individuals participating or perpetuating. We expect all elected representatives, local, state, and federal employees and law enforcement who take an oath to the constitution to obey their oath and defend the tenants of our representative democracy.
This is a highly nuanced moment, where different elected officials in Texas are illustrating how committed they are to their oaths and to the tenants of our democracy - ranging from fully fascist to fully engaged in the civil rights moment of our era.
HOCTX decries these attempts to pass unconstitutional, racist redistricting maps that seek to disenfranchise the voting power of Black and Hispanic communities in Texas.
HOCTX protests the decision by quorum-breaking House Representatives to re-enter Texas and give the House a quorum to pass this and other civil rights rollbacks. And we stand with Rep Collier and representatives who have not re-entered Texas.
We call on all Texas elected representatives to do everything in their power to stop this unconstitutional attempt to disenfranchise, silence, and erase the voices and votes of Texans.
Media disclaimer: There will be media and photos/videos of this event taken and shared on the internet, feel free to wear a mask for wellness or privacy reasons, and feel free to take your own photos and videos! Tag us: @handsoffcentraltx #handsofftx #handsoffcentraltx
Languages Disclaimer: ASL interpretation will not be guaranteed at this event. Language interpretation for languages other than English will not be guaranteed at this event.
Nonviolent Protest Disclaimer: Nobody from our organization will be provocative and we are not planning civil disobedience. We are utilizing our First Amendment right to protest and our right to lobby our representative government.
By attending our events, you are implicitly agreeing that while you attend our event, you will respect the laws and constitution of the United States and State of Texas and not create or contribute to a safety issue or lawlessness for our attendees and neighbors. We protect our community and defend democracy - we do not put people at risk or threaten violence.