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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday asked a Tarrant County judge to jail former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, in another escalation in Republicans’ broader effort to put an end to Texas Democrats’ walkout over a new congressional map.
Paxton sued O’Rourke and his political group, Powered by People, last week, arguing that the group was deceptively fundraising for and illegally supporting Texas Democrats’ walkout. Tarrant County District Judge Megan Fahey quickly granted Paxton’s request to temporarily block O’Rourke and Powered by People from fundraising for Democrats or spending money to cover their expenses.
On Tuesday, Paxton claimed that O’Rourke had violated that temporary injunction at a Fort Worth rally Saturday, when he told the crowd, “There are no refs in this game, fuck the rules.”
According to a video of the event, O’Rourke appeared to say that phrase after urging the crowd to support retaliatory redistricting in other blue states — not in relation to the injunction.
Paxton’s motion also cited social media posts by O’Rourke after the injunction came down, in which the Democrat said he was “still raising and rallying to stop the steal of 5 congressional seats in Texas,” and included a donation link.
The attorney general said O’Rourke “repeatedly solicited donations” at the Fort Worth rally by urging the crowd to text “FIGHT” to a number that would automatically respond with a link to a donation platform.
Paxton’s motion asks the judge to imprison O’Rourke for the duration of the lawsuit, and to fine the Democrat $500 for each violation of the injunction.
In an initial response, O’Rourke’s attorneys filed a notice to the court arguing that Paxton was “knowingly taking a statement entirely out of context to intentionally misrepresent the statement to this Court.” They also argued that Paxton’s motion “misrepresents” the temporary injunction, which barred O’Rourke and his group from fundraising for “non-political purposes” — not fundraising altogether. And they said that they would move to sanction Paxton’s office for violating professional and ethical standards.
Paxton’s lawsuit against O’Rourke and his group is part of an aggressive effort by Republican state leaders to break the impasse caused by Democrats’ exodus. Gov. Greg Abbott and Paxton have asked the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court to expel House Democrats, and Paxton, along with House Speaker Dustin Burrows, are turning to GOP-friendly Illinois courts to try to extradite the lawmakers taking refuge there.
Democrats left the state en masse last week, leaving the House without the minimum number of members to conduct business, to stall adoption of a new congressional map designed to give the GOP five additional seats in the U.S. House in next year’s midterm election.
Powered by People has been a top funder covering the costs of Democrats’ decampment, the expenses for which are mounting quickly. Democrats are on the hook for lodging, meals, travel and the $500-per-day fines accrued each day of the session they miss. They will also be responsible for thousands of dollars spent trying to compel their attendance, Burrows said Tuesday. He previously said they would not be able to receive their paycheck except in person, and that their office budgets would be slashed until they return.
O’Rourke filed his own lawsuit against Paxton Friday in El Paso district court, alleging that the attorney general was engaging in a “fishing expedition, constitutional rights be damned,” and asking the judge to block Paxton’s investigation into the organization’s practices.
“Paxton is trying to shut down Powered by People, one of the largest voter registration organizations in the country, because our volunteers fight for voting rights and free elections, the kind of work that threatens the hold that Paxton, [President Donald] Trump and Abbott have on power in Texas,” O’Rourke said in a statement responding to Friday’s injunction.
A spokesperson for O’Rourke did not immediately return a request for comment.
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