Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) is seeking former Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s (D-Texas) arrest, alleging in a motion filed on Tuesday that the Texas Democrat was violating a temporary restraining order on offering financial support for lawmakers who fled the state.
The filing alleges that O’Rourke and his Powered By People group continued to raise money to cover the expenses of Texas Democrats who fled the state even after a judge temporarily blocked the group from soliciting money.
The filing called for a $500 fine “for each act of contempt” and for O’Rourke to be jailed “until he demonstrates a willingness to abide by the Court’s orders pending the outcome of this lawsuit.”
“Beto is about to find out that running your mouth and ignoring the rule of law has consequences in Texas. It’s time to lock him up,” Paxton wrote in a post on the social media platform X.
O’Rourke hit back at Paxton in a post on X, saying the Texas attorney general was “lying about me to try to silence us.”
“Here’s the full clip. I mean every word. We alerted the Court that the AG’s office blatantly lied in its filing,” O’Rourke said, posting a clip of his remarks as he accused Paxton of taking his words out of context.
“We’re seeking maximum sanctions in response to his abuse of office. Taking the fight directly to this corrupt, lying thug.”
In the court filing, it alleges that O’Rourke said the following in the context of soliciting donations for Texas Democrats in spite of a restraining order: “Listen, you may say to yourself: Well those aren’t the rules. There are no refs in this game, f*** the rules, we are gonna win whatever it takes. We’re gonna take this to em’ in every way that we can.”
A video posted by O’Rourke including full remarks indicated he was speaking broadly about the redistricting battle playing out between GOP and Democratic states.
“We want California and New Jersey and Illinois and Maryland and every other state where the Democrats hold the governor’s mansion, the Assembly and the state Senate to redraw their congressional districts now, not wait for Texas to move first, to maximize Democratic Party advantage,” the Texas Democrat says in the video.
“Listen, you may say to yourself, ‘Well, those aren’t the rules.’ There are no refs in this game. F–k the rules. We are going to win whatever it takes,” he continued. “We’re going to take this to them in every way that we can.”
The video, however, did include a donation solicitation, asking viewers to text “Fight” to a number listed to help the lawmakers who had fled the state.
Texas Republicans are trying to put maximum pressure on Democrats to return to the state as the GOP looks to pass an even friendlier House map ahead of 2026. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has said he’ll call a second special session if Democrats fail to show up on Friday.
Democrats incur a daily $500 fee for every day they remain out of state during the special session, while Republicans have issued warrants for their arrest. Democrats like O’Rourke have sought to financially help Texas lawmakers shoulder the financial costs of fleeing the state, though Paxton’s move underscores how Republicans are placing maximum pressure on the lawmakers to return to the state.
Texas Republicans have also said the FBI is involved in trying to find the Democrats who fled the state, though the bureau has declined to comment on the matter. It’s also not clear what jurisdiction the FBI could have in the matter.
Texas GOP leaders have also moved to vacate the seats of a group of lawmakers. It’s unclear how long Democrats will remain out of the state.
Updated at 3:53 p.m. EDT