Attorney General Ken Paxton has petitioned a Texas district court to imprison former Rep. Beto O’Rourke for breaching a court order that prohibited fundraising related to the state’s ongoing redistricting dispute. His motion accuses O’Rourke of raising funds to directly cover the expenses and fines of the dozens of Texas Democratic lawmakers who left Texas to block a Republican-led redistricting effort. The court order, issued by Tarrant County Judge Megan Fahey, aimed to curb the fundraising efforts of O’Rourke and his nonprofit, Powered by People, which were intended to support the efforts of Democratic lawmakers to challenge the redistricting process. Paxton cited O’Rourke’s remarks at a Saturday rally — a day after Fahey’s order — where he reportedly said, “there are no refs in this game. Fuck the rules.” This remark is being used by Paxton as key evidence of O’Rourke’s perceived defiance of the court’s ruling.
O’Rourke’s legal team, however, dismisses Paxton’s interpretation of the remarks as an