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"Jesus! Get off of him!" TX-18 Candidate Isaiah Martin Arrested After Speaking Out At Hearing [1]

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Date: 2025-07-25

Isaiah Martin, one of 12 candidates vying for the TX-18 district seat, attended the Texas State House’s public meeting over the GOP plan to redraw congressional districts. It’s widely seen as a power grab by Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas GOP, and Donald Trump.

The nation’s top Republican, Donald Trump, had the Department of Justice send Greg Abbott a letter that stated race was illegally used as a factor in the makeup of at least four majority-minority districts represented by Democrats, and so they need to be redrawn. The aim is clear: redraw all the Congressional districts in Texas, carving up the Democratic districts in particular, and whittle at least an additional five Republican districts to ensure the GOP’s death-grip on the state gets tighter and that Congress stays in Republican hands after the 2026 midterm elections.

Martin is a Houston Democrat. He worked for the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who represented the predominantly Black 18th District until her death in 2024. Her successor, Sylvester Turner, also died in March 2025. Martin decided that, in light of how redrawing congressional districts would likely affect the 18th, he would attend the public hearing on Thursday, July 24th, and give testimony.

He ended up going over his time. Martin was asked to yield, and refused.

At that point, he was thrown to the floor and arrested:

x Isaiah has been dragged to the ground and arrested inside of the Texas State Capitol for speaking out against Greg Abbott and Donald Trump’s illegal gerrymandering. We are waiting for more information as it develops. pic.twitter.com/ZL6eKmfzq8 — Isaiah Martin (@isaiahrmartin) July 25, 2025

As reported by the Houston Chron site, Martin had this to say as he was tackled:

"You need to have shame. History will not remember you for what you have done. It is a shame," Martin yelled out as he was shoved to the ground. "It's horrific for what you have done. You should all be ashamed. America will rise up against you!

Someone certainly disagreed with the way Martin was manhandled — “Jesus! Get off of him!” can be heard as two men force Martin to the ground.

The story was carried in several papers, mostly because Martin was jailed for misdemeanor charges and then held for a staggering 24 hours.

The Texas Department of Public Safety has charged Martin with criminal trespassing, resisting arrest, and disrupting a public meeting. There were many other lawmakers and candidates—Reps. Greg Casar, Sylvia Garcia, and Joaquin Castro, and candidate Amanda Edwards—who testified at the hearing. All were critical and pointed to the damage such redistricting would do to the Black and Brown populations in Texas. Martin, however, was the only one arrested.

Concern grew when Martin remained in custody 14 hours later, with his family reporting that they had had no word from him or the authorities regarding his release. His brother Josh posted a recording to X(itter) at 11:49 a.m., in which he gave an update on Martin’s situation:

x An update on Isaiah, we haven’t heard anything in close to 14 hours. pic.twitter.com/3hrX4EIu04 — Isaiah Martin (@isaiahrmartin) July 25, 2025

"I don't know of anybody who's been in jail for this long for using your First Amendment rights at a public testimony," Martin's brother said in the video post. "This is what happens in Donald Trump's America."



::snip::



“What’s happening right now is that these people are trying to make an example out of my brother that whenever you go and speak out against the craziness that they’re doing that they will go out of their way to silence anyone who dare [speak out] against them.”

The video post and the clip of Martin being tackled in the hearing went viral, particularly on Bluesky, with supporters of Martin calling for both information and his release:

x How many freedom-loving Texans of ANY political party or color does it take to see that Isaiah Martin getting dragged out of the state Capitol because he went over his allotted time in using his First Amendment RIGHT to "petition the Government for a redress of grievances" IS full-blown FASCISM⁉️ — Mindcite💥 (@mindcite.bsky.social) 2025-07-25T14:40:39.765Z

x Release Isaiah Martin now!! We have 1st amendment rights. It is not legal to haul someone off to jail for speaking out against the regime. The USA is not Russia! TEXAS IS A POLICE STATE. #Pinks #ProudBlue www.click2houston.com/news/local/2... — AnnieOakleyinGA (@annie1x.bsky.social) 2025-07-25T15:01:48.705Z

x 🙏🏼 share, speak up and let the filthy animals in power know that this is unacceptable. Isaiah Martin is an incredible man with so much potential and has ties and friendship with so many of us. I hope folks will have his back, because I know he would have ours. Make it loud, please 🙏🏼 — 🪷MsGrumpyBunny🪷 (@msgrumpybunny.bsky.social) 2025-07-25T06:33:21.984Z

x Candidate Isaiah Martin is still in jail for telling the truth. bsky.app/profile/papo... — Bryan 🌐 🇺🇦 Slava Ukraine (@papootx.bsky.social) 2025-07-25T20:52:51.044Z

After 24 hours in jail, Martin was finally released:

AUSTIN, Texas — Congressional District 18 candidate, Isaiah Martin, was released Friday night from the Travis County Jail, more than 24 hours after his arrest at the Texas Capitol. Martin was arrested Thursday night at around 7:30 p.m. at the Texas Capitol after refusing to yield during his testimony at a redistricting hearing. Martin was released at around 9:30 p.m. —tired, frustrated, but proudly defiant. He spoke exclusively with CBS Austin.

x TX-18 candidate, @isaiahrmartin, was released from the TravCo jail moments ago. We spoke with him and he said he’s glad his charges are dropped, but he would “do it again for the people of Texas.”



He also says he will be at the redistricting hearing tomorrow in HTX. pic.twitter.com/M0dvVmQXcL — Abigail Velez (@velez_tx) July 26, 2025

One wonders what the Texas Department of Public Safety might have done if Martin wasn’t a Congressional candidate. Worse, if there had been members of ICE in the room.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/7/25/2335234/-Jesus-Get-off-of-him-TX-18-Candidate-Isaiah-Martin-Arrested-After-Speaking-Out-At-Hearing?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web

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