A fiery redistricting hearing at the Texas State Capitol erupted into chaos when a Democratic congressional candidate was dragged out of the chamber screaming.
Isaiah Martin, 27, was ultimately wrestled to the ground and arrested after unleashing a blistering tirade accusing Texas Republicans of bowing to President Donald Trump and destroying democracy.
Martin, a former staffer for Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and one of eight Democrats vying to replace the late Rep. Sylvester Turner in Houston’s 18th Congressional District, began a thunderous, impassioned statement when the House Redistricting Committee eventually cut off his microphone.
‘You already know what the situation is going to be!’ he bellowed at lawmakers. ‘Many of you Republicans – I’m looking at you – you guys understand the game. You’ve gotta get Trump’s endorsement! That’s the name of the game now!’
Once Martin’s allotted two minutes of speaking time were up, Martin was still talking. It led Republican Rep. Cody Vasut to order the sergeant-at-arms to remove him. But Martin refused to go quietly.
‘I’m not finished! I’m not finished!’ he shouted, pounding the lectern as stunned attendees looked on during Thursday’s meeting.
‘What we need in this state are people that have the cajones to actually stand up! Because what you’ve done to this state is categorically horrific!’
As security officers approached, Martin locked his legs and continued to rant about what he called a ‘rigged and corrupt system’ – accusing GOP lawmakers of bending to Trump’s will, selling out working-class Texans, and deliberately gerrymandering political maps to eliminate Democratic voices.
Isaiah Martin, 27, began a thunderous, impassioned statement when the House Redistricting Committee before his microphone was cut off
Once Martin’s allotted two minutes of speaking time were up, Republican Rep. Cody Vasut ordered the sergeant-at-arms to remove him
It took the efforts of several men to have Martin physically dragged from the chamber
‘You are scared and terrified because you’re seeking an endorsement!’ he thundered. ‘Donald Trump runs your vote here! He runs it!’
As two officers grabbed his arms and began dragging him from the chamber, Martin turned to the lawmakers still seated on the dais.
‘This is as a result of you – you did this!’ he screamed. ‘You have no shame. No shame for what you have done!’
Just as he reached the exit of the committee room, Martin was pummeled to the floor by a Capitol security officer.
The moment was caught on camera and posted to social media within minutes while a crowd of onlookers could be heard crying out in shock.
‘Jesus! Get off of him!’ a woman shouted as Martin struggled beneath the officer.
‘He tripped,’ one security official claimed.
Martin’s brother, who posted about the incident online, said Isaiah was cooperating and accused the state of trying to make an example out of him.
Despite the sergeant-at-arms being summoned to remove Martin, he still continued to shout and point his fingers at Republicans on the House Redistricting Committee
‘He shouldn’t have been arrested in the first place,’ his brother wrote, adding that Isaiah had willingly walked with officers after being forcibly removed.
The Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed Martin was arrested and booked into Travis County Jail on charges of criminal trespass, disrupting a public meeting, and resisting arrest, but on Friday, all charges were dropped.
Martin’s blistering testimony had begun calmly but with a righteous anger which quickly built into a full-scale political condemnation.
‘It just seems like the committee is going through the motions,’ he said at first. ‘But the real conversation we should be having is about retaliation – you’ve seen it in New York, California, Maryland. It’s coming.’
He warned that Democratic leaders in other states would respond in kind by gerrymandering Republicans out of power.
‘I look forward to New York Governor Kathy Hochul getting rid of you guys,’ he said. ‘I look forward to New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy doing the same thing. And Maryland’s Governor Wes Moore. All of them.’
Martin was frogmarched out of the chamber by two security officials
On his way out of the committee room, Martin was pummeled to the floor by a Capitol security officer
Isaiah Martin is running to represent Houston’s historic 18th in Congress
Then came the most explosive line: ‘You can thank your failed, senile, dilapidated, Epstein-partying president for the work we’re about to do to every single one of you.’
Stunned lawmakers and attendees sat frozen as Martin continued.
When asked to wrap up, he yelled back, ‘No, I’m not going to finish!
Because who doesn’t have a say in this? The people of this state! The 40 million people you just kicked off healthcare! The people who now have to go without SNAP because of what you’ve done!’
Martin ended with one final cry as he was physically pulled into the hallway: ‘America will rise up against you!’
His outburst and subsequent arrest came as Texas Republicans move forward with a controversial redistricting plan that could net the GOP up to five new congressional seats.
Critics say the move is designed to suppress minority and Democratic votes in the lead-up to the 2026 midterms.
Rep. Vasut defended his decision to eject Martin, calling his conduct ‘a clear violation of decorum.’
