Maryland state Sen. Arthur Ellis is staging a public, one-man protest against Senate President Bill Ferguson’s plan to stall a congressional redistricting map that’s favorable to Democrats.

For months, Ferguson has declared the majority of his caucus joins him in opposing the mid-cycle redistricting effort.

And while some senators have disagreed with Ferguson, none have put on such a dramatic and public display of opposition as Ellis did.

At the end of a Black History Month speech about Black women in the Civil Rights Movement, Ellis announced he won’t record his attendance during the Senate’s sessions as a symbol of his displeasure on redistricting.

“I will not come back to this podium and give quorum to this body until we bring the mid-cycle redistricting bill to this floor,” Ellis said in the Senate chamber.

Ellis, a Charles County Democrat, said Marylanders need to “be part of the revolution to send Washington a message that what they’re doing to our citizens is unacceptable — especially the Blacks and the browns. So many Black women in Maryland, in my district, have been fired because of their race by this administration."

On the Senate floor, Ellis’s speech was met with stunned silence. Senators looked around at each other in surprise. No one clapped, seconded the remarks or asked for the speech to be added to the official record of the day’s Senate proceedings.

“All right,” Ferguson said quietly. “Thank you, senator.”

After a quorum call, where senators registered their attendance — Ellis did not record himself present — the chamber emptied more quickly and quietly than usual.

One person in the State House did appreciate the senator’s move: Gov. Wes Moore, who has pushed for redistricting and called Ellis later to thank him for “standing up” on the issue.

The governor’s office confirmed the call.

Ammar Moussa, a spokesman for Moore, said in a statement that Ellis gave voice to Marylanders who want action.

“This is an urgent moment, and we cannot afford to sit on the sidelines — especially as we see real consequences coming out of Washington that hit Maryland families and communities,” Moussa said.

Speaking to reporters after the Senate session, Ellis said Democratic leaders have tried to intimidate him for his position. He said he brought up redistricting during a closed-door meeting of Senate Democrats on Tuesday, asking for a straw poll on the issue, and it was not received well.

Ellis said he was reprimanded after the caucus meeting. The meeting took place, he said, in the Senate president’s office.

“I won’t say who I spoke with but I’m just saying that I met, and they were not pleased with me bringing up that issue of redistricting in the caucus meeting,” Ellis said.

The Senate president, through a spokesman, declined to comment on Thursday.

Ellis said he remained undeterred.

“No one will intimidate Ellis,” he told reporters. “I served in the military. I served honorably. I’ve served and I’ve stared down dangerous situations, and this is a freedom of speech issue. As an independent elected senator, I have the right to bring up anything that’s important to my constituents and to be heard.”

Ellis said that he would attend full Senate sessions, but he won’t register his presence when the president takes a quorum call, which is how attendance is taken.

Ellis said he will continue to participate in committee hearings and will present the bills he’s sponsoring to committees.

Ellis said other senators agree with him, but he didn’t say how many. He indicated he may try to work within the Senate’s rules to try to push the bill out of the Rules Committee, where it’s been sitting since Wednesday. But he said he wouldn’t discuss specifics of his strategy.

The matter of congressional district boundaries could directly affect Ellis, who is weighing a run for Congress in the 5th District. Longtime U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer plans to retire after this term, creating a rare open seat that’s drawn plenty of interest from potential candidates.

The House of Delegates, at the behest of Gov. Wes Moore, approved a new map of congressional districts on Monday that gives Democrats a chance at sweeping all eight U.S. House districts — and pushing out the lone Republican, U.S. Rep. Andy Harris.

Supporters have argued that it’s necessary to redraw the boundaries to help elect more Democrats so Congress can be a check on Republican President Donald Trump.

And while the vote in the House was overwhelming — 99-37 — it hasn’t drawn as much support in the Senate.

After the map passed the House and crossed to the Senate, Ferguson assigned it to the Rules Committee. The Rules Committee exists for the sole purpose of deciding whether to assign bills to regular committees for a hearing. It meets infrequently, has no office and is stacked with Ferguson’s top leaders.

Since the fall, Ferguson has argued that it’s legally and politically risky for Democrats to redraw the map, which he thinks could be struck down in court. He’s also said that time effectively has run out, with the deadline for candidates to file to run for office about 2 1/2 weeks away.

Moore has been pressing the Senate to act, calling on Ferguson to take a vote and placing calls to senators.

Redistricting was discussed Thursday morning — before Ellis’ speech — at a breakfast meeting between Moore and the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland at the governor’s mansion, the governor’s office confirmed.

Ellis said some of his colleagues called him to thank him after his speech, but it remains to be seen whether any of them will join his public campaign to force a vote.

Ellis’s revolt on the Senate floor could come with consequences.

Ferguson controls the movement of bills through committee.

Ellis said he would continue to push bills he’s already filed this session that help women, veterans and children.

“I dare anyone to try to punish me and kill those bills,” he said.