.

Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier, a Democrat, unexpectedly ended a private call this week with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Democratic California lawmakers, and other Democratic leaders, saying it was a felony for her to be on the call while she was in the Texas Capitol.

Collier participated in the video call with Newsom, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, and other Democratic leaders, while lawmakers in the Texas House of Representatives were debating a redistricting bill backed by former President Donald Trump. In her statement, Collier said the proposed map violates the Voting Rights Act and will make it more difficult for communities of color to elect the candidates of their choice.

“This bill will keep Black and brown individuals from being able to choose the candidates of their choice because they’re cracking and packing these districts,” Collier told the group.

Collier appeared in the video call with Newsom and Martin at the beginning of the call with Martin, at one point, addressing lawmakers while Collier sat at the side of her Texas House chamber in the background.

Collier was still on the call around 30 minutes in when Martin was speaking. “Hey, um, sorry. I have to leave. They said it’s a felony for me to do this,” she said. “I can’t be on the floor or in the bathroom,” Collier added before addressing an unidentified person off-camera.

“You told me I was only allowed to be here in the bathroom,” Collier said to the person. Collier then pivoted back to the call. “No, hang on. Bye everybody. I’ve got to go.” Collier then abruptly hung up.

Collier’s abrupt departure left many on the call, including New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, dumbfounded. Booker, who was also on the call, reacted by immediately denouncing the situation as “outrageous.” “Let me tell you something, Rep. Collier in the bathroom has more dignity than Donald Trump in the Oval Office,” Booker told the group, drawing a nod of agreement from Newsom.

Booker continued his remarks by placing Collier’s situation in the broader context of suppressing the voices of Black women. “What they’re trying to do right there is silence an American leader, silence a Black woman, and that is outrageous. What we just witnessed, them trying to shut her down and saying it’s illegal for her to be in the bathroom and on this call, this is the lengths that they’re going to in Texas,” Booker said.

Democratic Fight to Redraw Texas Maps Goes Nationwide to California

The incident was the latest turn in what has become one of the most contentious redistricting battles in the country. Scores of Democrats in the Texas House fled the state in a failed two-week attempt to break quorum and block a Republican-sponsored measure from advancing. In response, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republican leaders in the state issued arrest warrants for the lawmakers and threatened to remove them from office if they did not return.

After Democrats returned to Austin, the state Capitol’s atmosphere was dramatically different. Lawmakers reported that Texas Department of Public Safety troopers had been assigned to follow them around — some in pairs, some guarding their offices, and sometimes accompanying them as they walked through the building. Some legislators even said they were being forced to sign “permission slips” if they wanted to leave the Capitol under the new security measures to ensure lawmakers remained in session.

The legislation in Texas could create as many as five additional Republican congressional seats. Critics of the bill say it would solidify GOP control of the state for the next decade. In response, California Democrats on Tuesday unveiled their redistricting plan to combat the Texas push. Newsom, who worked with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), announced the release of a new congressional map in the state on Monday that would likely eliminate five Republican seats and cancel out potential GOP pickups in Texas.

On Friday, California Democrats released their map, which showed how Democrats would redraw congressional representation in the state to potentially eliminate five Republican seats that were protected by members of the GOP after Texas’s plan was passed.

Redistricting battles are increasingly becoming a national issue rather than a state one as both parties vie for control of Congress and each party fights to retain its majority. Every new seat matters in that fight, and in the short-term at least, Democrats have been able to turn the fracas in Texas into a symbol of their voting rights fight, while also underscoring their efforts to fight against what they see as attempts to suppress minority voters.

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Booker and Newsom for comment, but did not receive immediate responses. Collier’s office declined to comment further, citing that the Texas House was in session.