A Democratic congressional candidate was forcibly removed from the Texas State Capitol Thursday and arrested after he filibustered a hearing on redistricting in the Lone Star State.
“It is a shame. It is horrific. For what you have … “ Isaiah Martin shouted as he was dragged out of the House Redistricting Committee meeting in Austin, just before a capitol security official fell on top of the 27-year-old House hopeful.
Martin is seeking to replace the late Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Texas), who died on March 5, as the Texas’ 18th Congressional District representative.
The Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed Martin was arrested and booked into Travis County Jail on charges of criminal trespass, disrupting a meeting or procession and resisting arrest, according to local outlet KVUE.
All charges against Martin were dropped Friday, and he was expected to be released from jail, his brother said in a social media post, arguing that the state was trying to make “an example” out of Isaiah.
Republican state Rep. Cody Vasut ordered the sergeant-at-arms to remove Martin from the hearing after he went over his allotted two minutes to speak and refused to stop talking — even after his microphone was shut off.
It took three men to wrestle Martin out of the room.
“Jesus! Get off of him!” a woman in the crowd demanded after the candidate fell to the ground with the sergeant-at-arms on top of him.
“He tripped,” one of the security members assured the woman.
“America will rise up against you!” Martin screamed as he was finally pulled into the hallway, where it appeared he fell, or was taken down, once more.
Martin’s brother contends that Isaiah was simply using his First Amendment rights and “willingly walked with the officers out of the building“ after his arrest.
“He shouldn’t have been arrested in the first place,” Martin’s brother said.
Martin, who previously worked as a staffer for late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), is one of eight Democrats currently running in a special election race for the Houston-area congressional district.
He is opposed to Republican-led efforts in Texas to tweak the state’s congressional maps further in the GOP’s favor.
The redistricting proposal may create five new winnable seats for Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
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