Isaiah Martin, 27, is running in a special election to replace the late U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner, who died in March.
AUSTIN, Texas — An outburst during a House Redistricting Committee hearing at the Texas State Capitol on Thursday ended with an arrest.
During the hearing, State Rep. Cody Vasut (R-Angleton) ordered the sergeant at arms to remove 27-year-old Isaiah Martin after Martin went over the two-minute time limit to testify and refused to stop talking.
Martin is one of eight Democrats currently running in a special election in Texas’ 18th congressional district, which encompasses part of Houston, to replace the late Congressman Sylvester Turner, who died on March 5. The election will take place on Nov. 4 as a nonpartisan primary, meaning all candidates will appear on one ballot, with the top two advancing to a runoff if no one gains more than 50% of the vote. The district is considered a safely Democratic seat.
A video shared by Martin’s campaign team shows him falling to the ground, along with a sergeant at arms, as he’s being removed from the hearing.
On Friday, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) confirmed Martin was arrested by DPS officers at the Capitol at around 7 p.m. Thursday. He was then booked into the Travis County Jail on charges of criminal trespass, disrupting a meeting or procession and resisting arrest. A Travis County prosecutor subsequently rejected the criminal trespass charge.
Thursday’s hearing was the first held by Texas lawmakers during the special session regarding a proposed redrawing of congressional districts in a rare mid-decade redistricting.
Gov. Greg Abbott added the issue to the special session agenda after pressure from President Donald Trump, who has said he believes Texas can secure five more Republican seats in the U.S. House, in hopes of offsetting a potential shift in Congress in the upcoming midterm elections.
Political maps must be redrawn once every decade after the U.S. Census is taken, although no federal law prohibits those maps from being redrawn mid-cycle. The Texas Constitution allows the maps to be redrawn at the discretion of the governor and the Legislature.
Adding five more GOP seats in Texas would give Republicans control of 80% of the Texas delegation in the U.S. House. However, it is not clear how Republicans plan to create those five new seats.
The hearing was the first of seven scheduled to happen as lawmakers in both chambers gather public feedback over the next several days. It was the only one where people could testify in person at the Capitol, although there are other opportunities to testify in person during field hearings in different parts of the state or virtually.
On Monday, the Travis County Attorney’s Office confirmed Martin’s charges are no longer pending.