A Democratic Florida lawmaker is out of jail following her arrest Friday after she refused to leave Gov. Ron DeSantis' office.
Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville, had demanded a meeting with DeSantis on the state's new congressional map.
"I'll wait on the governor," she said, after receiving a warning to leave when the state Capitol closed Friday evening.
Rep. Angie Nixon, a Jacksonville Democrat, is doing a sit in at Gov. Ron DeSantis office in protest of the state’s new U.S. House map that creates more GOP-leaning districts.
— Douglas Soule (@DouglasSoule) May 15, 2026
Nixon was given a warning but is refusing to leave.
The press got escorted out, so we can’t see what’s… pic.twitter.com/iUJjrQIW2k
DeSantis called her actions "performative nonsense."
The map creates four new GOP-leaning U.S. House districts.
Nixon, who is running for U.S. Senate, accused Republican lawmakers of being focused on helping their party and President Donald Trump instead of helping Floridians with affordability issues.
ALSO READ: Judge weighs challenge to Florida's new congressional map
"That's why we're here, because they rig those maps for him, and I am absolutely upset about it, and I won't sit idly by without speaking up for hardworking folks that are struggling day-to-day," she said in an interview with WUSF before her arrest.
Other advocates were with Nixon throughout the day. The Leon County court docket hasn't been updated yet with Friday's arrests and charges.
"We're demanding that the governor come back and call for a special session to redraw maps and do them in the right way," Nixon said.
Here’s my interview with Nixon. pic.twitter.com/tjUK6P0QYC
— Douglas Soule (@DouglasSoule) May 15, 2026
She says the map violates state constitutional partisan gerrymandering restrictions. A Tallahassee court is considering legal challenges to it.
The day prior, on Thursday, she received a rare reprimand from a Florida House committee after using a bullhorn to protest the final vote on the map.
If you have any questions about state government or the legislative process, you can ask the Your Florida team by clicking here.
This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
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