Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked a judge to arrest Democrat Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke, a former House representative, for allegedly violating a court order that barred him from raising cash for statehouse Democrats who fled Texas to delay congressional redistricting.
The contempt motion could result in serious consequences for O’Rourke, including jail time of up to six months behind bars.
Paxton made his intentions clear in a statement to Breitbart News.
“Beto told me ‘to come and take,’ so I did and beat him in court. Now, he still thinks he’s above the law, so I’m working to put him behind bars,” Paxton said Tuesday morning. “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,” Paxton said. “It’s time to lock him up.”
The legal action stems from O’Rourke’s efforts to fundraise for Texas Democrat lawmakers who abandoned their legislative duties and fled the state in an attempt to prevent Republicans from redrawing congressional districts.
The Democrats’ walkout was designed to deny the Texas House a quorum needed to proceed with redistricting.
Last week, Paxton successfully obtained a temporary restraining order from Tarrant County Judge Megan Fahey that specifically prohibited O’Rourke and his organization “Powered by People” from raising money to support the absent Democrats. After securing the order, Paxton declared victory over what he called corrupt political influence.
“The Beto Bribe buyouts that were bankrolling the runaway Democrats have been officially stopped,” Paxton said after the judge issued the restraining order. “People like Robert believe Texas can be bought. Today, I stopped his deceptive financial influence scheme that attempted to deceive donors and subvert our constitutional process. They told me to ‘come and take it,’ so I did.”
O’Rourke openly defied the court order less than 24 hours after it was issued. At a weekend rally in Fort Worth, O’Rourke encouraged attendees to donate money to his organization through text messages, specifically to support the Democrat lawmakers who had fled the state.
“He [Paxton] tried to stop us from holding this rally here today in Fort Worth, 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,” O’Rourke told rally-goers, before providing specific instructions on how to send donations via text message.
Paxton “is trying to stop us from raising the resources they [the Democrat statehouse fugitives] need to ultimately prevail and come through and we are not going to let him stop us. Are you with me on that?” O’Rourke asked.
He declared: “there are no refs in this game, f*ck the rules, we are going to win whatever it takes.”
Paxton’s office had an icy response about law and order.
“Robert Francis is wrong on both counts,” the attorney general’s office stated. “There is a referee—the Honorable Megan Fahey—and there are rules—namely, that a person violating a temporary restraining order can be fined up to $500 and jailed for up to six months.”
The contempt action represents the latest chapter in O’Rourke’s troubled relationship with Texas law enforcement. In 1998, O’Rourke was arrested for driving under the influence, with police officers at the scene later claiming he attempted to flee the scene of the crime. O’Rourke has denied trying to leave the scene. The charges were ultimately dismissed after O’Rourke completed a court-approved diversion program.
O’Rourke’s political career has been marked by a series of high-profile defeats in Texas. The former U.S. Congressman lost his 2018 Senate race against Ted Cruz, failed in his 2020 presidential primary campaign against Joe Biden, and was defeated by Governor Greg Abbott in the 2022 gubernatorial election. His current involvement in the redistricting controversy is an effort to maintain political relevance among the Democratic base.
The Texas Republicans’ redistricting efforts are aimed at updating congressional maps to reflect population changes documented in the 2020 census. Democrats have characterized this as gerrymandering, while Republicans argue they are simply ensuring fair representation based on current demographics.
And it could soon lead to jail time for O’Rourke.