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Texas Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier walked out of a private call with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democratic leaders this week after she was told it was a felony for her to participate while in the Texas Capitol.

The clip, which showed Collier leaving the private Zoom call in the middle of her conversation, came during heightened tensions over the vote on Texas’s controversial redistricting bill.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had earlier in the week ordered Democrats to be arrested and even deputized the state’s rangers in an attempt to force lawmakers to return and end a two-week stalemate over the GOP-led effort.

Democrats say the Republican-authored bill violates federal voting protections, with some Democrats even staging a walkout to prevent a quorum. When Collier joined Newsom, California Democratic Party Chair Kia Dailey, and others in a video meeting, the Texas House was simultaneously holding a debate over a redistricting map backed by former President Donald Trump.

During her remarks, Collier stated that the proposed map violated the Voting Rights Act and that it would undercut the power of minority communities to vote for candidates of their choosing.

“This bill will prevent Black and brown individuals from selecting the candidates of their choice because they’re cracking and packing these districts,” Collier said, referring to a common gerrymandering technique of dividing or consolidating voting blocs to manipulate district representation.

Approximately 30 minutes into the call, during remarks by Martin, Collier turned back to the camera, cut the call, and said she needed to leave.

“I’m sorry, I have to leave. I have to go,” Collier said. “They said it was a felony for me to do this.” She added, “Apparently, I’m not allowed to be on the floor or in the bathroom.” Collier was then seen off-camera, seemingly talking to another person.

“You told me I was only allowed to be here in the bathroom,” she said back toward the camera.

Returning to the call, she added, “No, hold on. Bye everybody. I’ve got to go.” She cut the connection.

The abrupt move stunned the group, with New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker immediately saying, “Rep. Collier, I’m so sorry to see this. This is outrageous. Oh, that was outrageous.”

Booker added, “Rep. Collier in the bathroom has more dignity than Donald Trump in the Oval Office,” to applause from the group. He turned toward Newsom, who nodded in agreement.

Booker continued, “What they’re trying to do right there, that’s what they’re trying to do right there. Trying to silence an American leader, trying to silence a Black woman, that is outrageous, that is outrageous,” he said.

“Again, for them to try to silence her, what we just witnessed. Trying to shut her down, to say it’s illegal for her to be in the bathroom, illegal for her to be on this call, illegal for her to participate with us in this group meeting. This is the length that they’re going to. They’re going to go to Texas,” Booker continued.

Booker then walked away from the camera after a Texas DPS official escorted him out.

The Texas standoff was one of the most intense battles over redistricting in the country. Dozens of Texas House Democrats had previously fled the state two weeks ago in an unsuccessful attempt to hold up the legislation by denying the state a quorum.

Abbott and other Texas GOP leaders ordered the lawmakers arrested, and even deputized the state’s rangers in the attempt to force lawmakers to return. When the lawmakers did return to Austin, state Capitol members said Texas DPS officers were ordered to shadow them, sometimes guarding their offices or trailing them through hallways. Some lawmakers even said they were required to sign “permission slips” if they left the state Capitol as part of the increased security to monitor for quorum.

The Texas bill would add up to five GOP seats in the state’s congressional delegation, which Democrats say would make it more difficult to retake the chamber for the next decade. In response, California Democrats unveiled a new redistricting map.

Newsom, working with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, is unveiling a new congressional map in the state that could erase as many as five GOP seats on the West Coast if the new map is adopted.

The plan released Friday could potentially erase five congressional seats the GOP picked up in Texas.

The new battle on redistricting has led to Democrats and Republicans in one state fighting out their differences in other states. Control of Congress will be at stake during the next two congressional elections, and any new district up for grabs will be needed.

Redistricting has already impacted Democratic chances in other states. In Florida, where the state Supreme Court previously blocked the GOP-led state legislature’s redistricting effort, Democrats lost what was expected to be an easy pickup in a new congressional district.