‘I don’t have any regrets’: Jacksonville state lawmaker reprimanded for protest on House floor

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — State Representative Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville) was issued a formal reprimand by her colleagues Thursday afternoon.

It comes in response to Nixon’s protest on the House floor during last month’s vote to pass new congressional maps.

During that protest, Nixon shouted into a hot-pink bullhorn over her colleagues.

“I believe a reprimand is both appropriate and necessary. No one should take pleasure in reprimanding a fellow member,” said State Representative Sam Garrison (R-Fleming Island), who chairs the House Committee on Rules and Ethics.

Action News Jax spoke with Nixon ahead of the hearing.

“I don’t have any regrets about what I did,” said Nixon.

Nixon said she was blindsided by the punishment.

She said she never was informed ahead of the hearing, and she was also not offered a chance to speak during it.

“They don’t want us to have a say. They don’t want us to use our voice and it’s just a slap in the face and goes against democracy,” said Nixon.

Garrison noted in the vast majority of cases, members who violate House rules are not punished.

But he explained in this case, where the distraction caused two members to vote incorrectly and another to seek medical attention for hearing damage, he felt it was necessary.

“I don’t think members like to do this because, at the end of the day, the have to operate in the same chamber with their colleagues,” said JU Political Science Professor Dr. Matthew Corrigan. ”So, it is fairly rare.”

Corrigan suggested the punishment might actually work to Nixon’s advantage in the upcoming Primary Election, as she’s leaving the House this year to run for the US Senate.

“Because Democrats want a fighter right now. They want to take on Republicans,” said Corrigan.

If Nixon violates House rules again before her exit from the legislature, she was warned that she could face more severe consequences, ranging from a formal censure to removal from office.