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Texas Democrats face possible arrest after fleeing state
FOX 26 Reporter Natalie Hee spoke with one of Texas Democrats who fled the state to break quorum at the state capitol in Austin.
HOUSTON - Texas Senators passed a voting bill Tuesday despite Texas House members fleeing to the nation's capitol in an attempt to block the legislation.
State House Democrats who fled the state could now be tracked down and arrested.
This comes after their Republican colleagues passed a measure to try and regain quorum in the legislature.
"I was not technically in the air. I was in Texas and so I got word that I was being looked for," said Shawn Thierry, State Rep. D-Dist. 146.
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Thierry said she spent nearly 13 hours trying to get out of Texas Tuesday.
"I've been traveling since five this morning to avoid being apprehended, arrested and locked on the House floor. That is just a function of my commitment because that goes to show how bad this bill really is," Thierry said.
"Voting is everything and so I have to do everything to protect that right and so, if it means me leaving my family, leaving my job, uprooting myself, I’m willing to do that. We have no choice," Thierry said.
Her escape from the Lone Star State comes after her Republican colleagues passed a motion to declare Thierry & other House members who fled to Washington "legislative fugitives."
The motion gives DPS troopers the authority to track down and arrest lawmakers like Thierry within the borders of Texas.
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State Rep. Will Metcalf of Conroe issued "a call on the House" to regain quorum to pass the voting bill.
Since more than 50 members have fled, the House does not have 2/3 of the chamber to conduct business during any session.
"We have a constitutional duty to represent our districts. It's hard to work with them if they're not here, and so you know, we want them to come back and work with us. We want to open dialogue on the House floor and let's get to work for the betterment of Texas," Metcalf said.
"It's very simple. We want to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat. We want uniformity in our election law," Metcalf continued.
Rep. Thierry says while in Washington she plans on meeting with Congressional leaders to urge them to pass federal legislation to reform voter rights.