Ken Paxton Moves To Jail Beto O’Rourke Over Fundraising For AWOL Texas Democrats

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking to put Democrat Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke behind bars, accusing him of blatantly violating a court order barring him from raising funds for Texas Democrats who fled the state to block a GOP-backed congressional map.

Last week, Tarrant County Judge Megan Fahey issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting O’Rourke and his political group, Powered by People, from paying for the personal expenses of the 50 Democrat lawmakers who bolted to Illinois to avoid a vote. Paxton says O’Rourke defied the order almost immediately.

According to Paxton, O’Rourke told a rally crowd he would “continue fundraising” for the AWOL legislators and urged Democrats to “f*** the rules” and “win whatever it takes.” He also called for Democrat-led states to redraw their own maps to strip seats from Republicans.

“There is a referee the Honorable Megan Fahey and there are rules,” Paxton said. “Given Robert Francis’s vulgar disdain for the rule of law and immense personal wealth, imprisonment is absolutely necessary to persuade him to obey the lawful restraining order.”

Paxton made clear he is pushing for jail time, noting that violating the order could carry up to a $500 fine and six months in jail. “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.

O’Rourke fired back on X, accusing the attorney general of lying “to try to silence us” and claiming his team had informed the court that Paxton’s office “blatantly lied in its filing.” He vowed to seek “maximum sanctions” against Paxton for “abuse of office.”

Powered by People, O’Rourke’s left-wing political group, has been funding the runaway Democrats’ stay in Illinois, where they are racking up $500 daily fines while refusing to return to Austin. The Democrats have pledged to remain out of state past the 30-day special legislative session.

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott has warned he will continue calling special sessions until lawmakers return. “If they show back up in the state of Texas, they will be arrested and taken to the capitol,” Abbott said. “If they want to evade that arrest, they’re gonna have to stay outside of the state of Texas for literally years.”

Paxton’s legal push is the latest escalation in a standoff that has pitted Texas Republican leadership against Democrats determined to grind legislative business to a halt and against one of the state’s most prominent liberal activists.

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