Texas congressional candidate removed, arrested during redistricting hearing

AUSTIN, Texas - A Texas congressional candidate was arrested Thursday evening while testifying against Republican efforts to redraw the state's congressional maps.

Isaiah Martin, who is running for the 18th congressional district in Houston, was forcibly removed from Thursday's House committee hearing on redistricting after going over his designated time to testify.

The 18th congressional district is one of four identified in a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice as a potential target for redistricting.

What they're saying:

During Martin's testimony Thursday he said Texas Republicans were moving forward with redistricting plans to gain an endorsement from President Donald Trump.

Martin went on to mention redistricting conversations that are happening in Democrat-run states like California and New York and questioned the timing of the move coming on the heels of devastating flooding in Central Texas.

"And you choose, after we literally got out of one the worst mass casualty events in our state's history, to go and gerrymander people out of their seats. That's what you have chosen to do with your time," Martin said. "Because you are scared of Donald Trump. You are scarred and terrified because you are seeking an endorsement."

Martin was warned multiple times by committee chair Cody Vasut and when cutting off Martin's microphone didn't work, he was removed from the room.

"History will not remember you for what you have done," Martin said as he was being forcibly removed from the room. "It is a shame."

The move drew applause from several in the room.

The applause soon turned into concern from those in the room. A video posted on Martin's X account shows him falling to the ground while being removed from the room and one of the people escorting him out of the room falling on top of him.

"Jesus! Get off of him," a person can be heard saying.

A statement from Martin said he was "dragged to the ground and arrested" for "speaking out against Greg Abbott and Donald Trump's illegal gerrymandering."

The Travis County Jail shows Martin was charged with resisting arrest, criminal trespass and disrupting a meeting or procession.

Around 2 p.m. Friday, Martin's brother posted on X that Martin was still being held in jail.

Redistricting

Big picture view:

Martin wasn't the only congressional candidate to speak at Thurday's hearing.

Current representatives Greg Casar, Joaquin Castro and Sylvia Garcia also testified in front of the committee.

Texas has 38 Congressional Districts, with 13 considered to be Democrat strongholds. Redrawing the lines now, in theory, could increase the number of seats held by Republicans which Democrats oppose.

Trump has said he hopes to gain five Republican seats in the House through Texas.

Abbott insists the decision to explore redrawing congressional districts comes from recent court rulings.

What they're saying:

"What I'm worried about is making sure that we are going to have congressional districts in the state of Texas, where Texas is going to be represented in Washington, DC, in ways that fit the structure of this recent court decision that allows Texas to draw these districts that also maximize the ability of Texans to be able to vote for their candidate of choice," Abbott said Tuesday.

Both political parties have used redistricting to gain an edge in Texas elections for decades. This current political fight was triggered after a court ruling against what’s called "Coalition Districts", where voting boundaries are set by counting different smaller minority groups as one large set. 

Four Texas districts, in Dallas and Houston, held by Democrats, were cited as justification for a re-write. But they are not included in a long list of districts the house committee is considering to re-draw.

Democratic committee members called several witnesses during the hearing. Some pointed out that last year Republicans supported the current Congressional map and claimed it was "race neutral." 

Redrawing Congressional lines comes with some risk for Republicans. A new map could reduce the GOP advantage in several districts, making races more competitive, and providing possible opportunities to flip seats for Democrats. 

A proposed congressional map is not expected to be made public until all the hearings are held. The next committee meeting is in Houston on Saturday, and then Monday in Arlington.

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