One Democratic candidate is making a name for himself after a showdown with Republicans in Texas got him tossed in jail. Isaiah Martin is running to represent Houston’s Congressional District 18, and although he might be a newcomer in Texas politics, he’s already on Republicans’ radar.
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It all started on Thursday (July 24) when Martin decided to make his way to the Texas House Congressional Redistricting Committee meeting in Austin. The state has recently become a topic of discussion after President Donald Trump has suggested redrawing district lines ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Gov. Greg Abbott added Trump’s proposal to the agenda on Thursday, and when given the chance to speak about it, Martin went off. “Many of you that are Republicans, and I’m looking at you, you understand the game. You gotta get Trump’s endorsement,” he began during his speech. “That’s the name of the game to be a Republican nowadays. And you know very clearly that Trump told every single one of you that he needs five seats.”
He was only allotted two minutes to share his disapproval, but after the timer went off, Martin just kept speaking. Eventually, this led to Rep. Cody Vasut asking the sergeant-at-arms to remove Martin from the hearing.
Video from Martin’s demonstration was shared on his campaign media platforms. In the clips, Martin told Republicans “History will not remember you kindly for what you have done. History might not remember you at all,” while claps and cheers from the crowd continued.
It took three men to escort Martin out of the hearing, with them even falling to the ground. The 27-year-old was then arrested and charged with disrupting a meeting, resisting arrest, and criminal trespassing, according to KEYE.
He was jailed around 7 p.m. Thursday night and released the following evening. His brother took to X to share news that the charges against Martin have also been dropped.
Despite his run in with the law, Martin said he will not be stopped from speaking out. “100 percent. I will 100 percent be there and you cannot get rid of me,” Martin told KEYE. Martin continued saying he would “do it again for the people of Texas.”
Martin isn’t the only Texan calling out Trump and Gov. Abbot for trying to redraw district lines. “Republicans know they can’t win on their failed agenda, so they’ve hatched a scheme to rig the Texas map to try to save their microscopic majority,” Rep. Suzan DelBene said.
Typically, the redrawing of the state’s maps is done once a decade, coinciding with the Census. But Trump wants to speed up the process in hopes of gaining an advantage come the 2026 midterms, ABC News reported.
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