Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday said prison is on the line for former Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke after he was accused of violating a court order blocking him from funding Democratic lawmakers seeking to thwart the GOP’s redistricting plan.
Earlier this month, dozens of state Democrats left Texas to delay the vote for a new congressional map favoring the Republican Party in the state. O’Rourke, a Texas congressman from 2013-2019, got involved through his political group, Powered by People, which covered the costs of the fleeing lawmakers. Paxton swiftly filed a lawsuit alleging O’Rourke illegally engaged in false or misleading fundraising practices to raise money for the lawmakers. Tarrant County District Judge Megan Fahey ruled in Paxton’s favor with a temporary restraining order against O’Rourke last Friday.
This week, Paxton said O’Rourke “blatantly violated” the court order when he asked attendees at a Fort Worth rally to donate funds to Powered by People to thwart redistricting efforts benefiting Republicans.
“He still thinks he’s above the law, so I’m working to put him behind bars,” Paxton said in a statement. “Robert Francis flagrantly and knowingly violated the court order I secured that prevents him from raising funds and distributing any more Beto Bribes. He’s 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.”
Those who violate Fahey’s temporary restraining order could be fined up to $500 and jailed for up to six months, according to Paxton, whose office wrote in a press release that “imprisonment [for O’Rourke] is absolutely necessary to persuade him to obey the lawful restraining order issued by the Tarrant County court.”
Paxton’s actions come after O’Rourke urged supporters on Saturday to text a number associated with Powered by People and financially back Democrats’ efforts to thwart a GOP vote on redistricting efforts.
“[Paxton] tried to stop us from holding this rally here today in Fort Worth,” O’Rourke said during the Fort Worth rally. “He tried to stop us from raising money to support these Democrats in the fight he lost, and one of the worst things that we could do to Ken Paxton is to, right now, choose to donate to have the backs of these fighters by texting ‘fight’ to 20377.”
Paxton “is trying to stop us from raising the resources they need to ultimately prevail and come through, and we are not going to let him stop us,” O’Rourke added. “Are you with me on that?”
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O’Rourke filed his own lawsuit against Paxton last Friday, demanding the courts block the attorney general’s investigation into Powered by People’s practices. He alleged that Paxton was engaging in a “fishing expedition, constitutional rights be damned” and accused his foe of trying to “make examples out of those who fight so that others won’t.”
O’Rourke has been viewed as a possible contender to challenge Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) or Paxton, depending on the primary campaign, ahead of the 2026 election. He previously lost a 2018 senate race against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), a 2020 presidential primary race against former President Joe Biden, and a 2022 gubernatorial bid against Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX).