Op-Ed: If Legislative Leaders Aren’t Exempt From Arrest, What Hope Do Others Have?

When I was coming up in politics in the early 2000s in Ohio, I don’t recall a time when Republicans in the state cheered the arrest of Democrats. Yet something similar is happening in Texas. After Democrats fled the state to delay a vote on a redistricting bill, Republicans voted to track them down and arrest them.

I’m no Pollyanna. I served as a deputy chief of staff in the Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus in 2009, when Democrats held just 12 of 33 seats. Although it was clear Democrats would struggle to obtain policy wins, I don’t recall state legislative leaders going to extremes to punish colleagues. To be clear, since 2011, Republicans in Ohio have had a strong majority in the Senate and a trifecta in terms of controlling the Governor’s office and the Ohio House of Representatives. As such, they didn’t need Democratic votes.

And yet, the caustic nature of today’s political climate is alarming.

How do you pursue the level of bipartisanship that governing requires when you fundamentally hate and want to punish those on the other side of the aisle? How does one, in good faith, discuss policy when one does not recognize the agency of the person with whom they’re engaging? Additionally, given the significant harms of unfair legislative maps, why is anyone shocked that those with limited power would seek to balance the ship in some way?

I may be naïve, but there was a time in our nation where there appeared to be respect for those in office, even when there was a divergence in ideology.

Now, however, things are different. The political environment is bitterly partisan, with many harboring disdain for those belonging to different political parties. In some states, elected leaders seem open to, almost eager to, criminalize their colleagues for the slightest missteps. People use party labels like curse words. 

This is problematic as we are living in a season where more people believe political violence to be acceptable. In 2024, 1 in 5 Americans believed it was okay to resort to political violence to get the country back on track. This is evidenced by rising instances of violence against elected officials. In June 2025, former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were gunned down in a politically motivated attack. And in 2017, a gunman shot four people, including Congressman Steve Scalise, during a Congressional Baseball Game practice in Alexandria, Virginia.

In a democracy, no one should be harmed because of their political views or political affiliation. Similarly, when there are policy disagreements or peaceful resistance, elected leaders shouldn’t be threatened with arrest.

In fleeing the state, Texas Democrats used one of the few tools at their disposal to block a redistricting vote that would give Republicans five additional legislative seats.

The fact that voters struggle to elect candidates of their choice is often due to legislative maps that favor the party in control. Even when turnout is high, elected leaders can draw maps in such a way that the other party has little shot of getting into office.

Although Texas Democrats will be excoriated for leaving the Lone Star State, there is precedent for their actions.

“Texas Democrats fled the state in 2003 to break quorum over Republican redistricting efforts,” according to USA Today. The Texas Tribune reported that denying quorum has been a political strategy in Texas since the 1800s. It’s been used in other places as well.

In 2011, Wisconsin Democrats fled the state for 22 days to delay a vote on Act 10, which ultimately ended collective bargaining in the state.

I fear the outrage we see, complete with threats to arrest dissidents, is about silencing dissent. There appears to be zero tolerance for dissent, whether it is carried out via demonstrations, fleeing the state or voiced opposition. And this isn’t limited to Texas.

In Tennessee in 2023, legislators Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson were expelled after protesting inaction on gun violence. They ultimately won back their seats, but the expulsion had to sting.

These examples beg the question: Is resistance even possible in this moment? What levers are available to policymakers when they are in the minority? What tools are available to the rest of us?

Resistance is rarely universally accepted, but the stakes are higher now. The knee-jerk reaction to arrest and jail those who resist is worrisome. In a nation rife with mass incarceration, arrests should be used for persons who pose a danger to society, not those resisting unjust policies.

Moreover, if legislative leaders aren’t exempt from unfair arrest, what hope do others have?

Jennifer R. Farmer is the author of “First and Only: A Black Woman’s Guide to Thriving at Work and in Life,” and founder of the social justice public relations firm, Spotlight PR LLC.

SEE ALSO:

Op-Ed: 300,000 Black Women Left Or Were Pushed Out Of The Workforce

Texas State Democrats Break Quorum, Leave State Amid Redistricting Vote