A Democratic state lawmaker who fled Texas in protest of a GOP redistricting effort is asking a court to let her exit the Capitol, after she was told she needs a police escort to leave the building.

After Democrats returned to the Texas statehouse, Republican leadership assigned law enforcement officers to monitor them to prevent further delays to their plan to redraw congressional voting districts to favor Republicans ahead of the election.

The Texas State Capitol was cleared of visitors Tuesday evening and closed to the public after a social media threat, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.

Texas Republicans mandated that Democratic lawmakers not be allowed to leave the state house without a permission slip and a police escort.

Nicole Collier spent two nights inside the Texas Capitol after she was barred from leaving the building over her refusal to agree to 24-hour police surveillance.

Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer says for “most Americans” Vice President Kamala Harris is a “blank slate”.