.

Texas Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier had a message for California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other leaders on a private call this week: she had to hang up after learning it was a felony for her to be on the call while in the Texas Capitol.

The bizarre scene, which played out on camera on a video call, illustrated the high stakes of the fight over Texas’s controversial redistricting bill that Democrats charge violates federal protections for voters.

Collier was on the call with Newsom, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin, and others as the Texas House of Representatives held a hearing on a redistricting measure being pushed by former President Donald Trump. Collier, in her comments on the call, contended that the map did not adhere to the Voting Rights Act and “weakens our communities of color to elect the candidates of their choice.”

“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.

The representative, who is Black, was speaking from the Texas Capitol and in the middle of the House floor debate on the Texas redistricting map when she interrupted the call some 30 minutes in. As Martin was talking, Collier interjected to say she had to leave. “Sorry, I have to leave. They said it’s a felony for me to do this,” she said.

“They don’t want me to be on the floor or in the bathroom,” Collier continued, looking at someone off camera. “You told me I was only allowed to be here in the bathroom,” Collier said to the unseen person before turning back to the camera.

“No, hang on. Bye everybody. I’ve got to go,” Collier said. She then left the call.

“I can’t be in the bathroom, or on the call,” Collier, laughing, repeated before exiting.

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker immediately showed his support for Collier, saying it was “outrageous.”

“Let me tell you something, Rep. Collier in the bathroom has more dignity than Donald Trump in the Oval Office,” Booker said, with Newsom head-nodding in the background. Booker continued, “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.”

GOP Tries to Silence Texas Lawmakers in Fight over Voting Rights

GOP Gov. Greg Abbott and other Texas Republican leaders had repeatedly threatened to arrest Democratic lawmakers and remove them from office for having fled the state for two weeks to try to block the legislation. Once they eventually returned to the Capitol, lawmakers said that they were being followed by Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers, which some said included DPS troopers “assigned” to their offices or even patrolling behind them in the Capitol building.

Lawmakers said DPS troopers at the Capitol even had them sign “permission slips” to leave the building as part of its measures to ensure there was a quorum to hold a vote on the measure.

The Texas bill would add up to five additional GOP congressional seats, Democrats say, a move that would help ensure Republican control of the state for the next decade.

California Counts Blocked Texas Map with Own Redistricting Plan

To fight back, California Democrats said they were planning to “neutralize” any Republican gains in Texas by changing its congressional map.

As part of his efforts to defend Democratic seats in the House, Newsom announced a plan, in coordination with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), that would redraw congressional districts in California and likely eliminate up to five Republican seats that could otherwise be added in Texas.

On Friday, a new California map was released as part of the effort to increase Democratic representation there.

GOP Stalls on Texas Black Voter Access Act, Democrats Demand Vote

The confrontation with Collier also came after one of the hardest-fought redistricting fights in the state. Dozens of Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives had fled the state two weeks ago in an attempt to prevent Republicans from having qa uorum in the legislature and voting on the bill.

In response, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other GOP leaders had both arrested the lawmakers and threatened to remove them from office if they did not return to the Capitol.

Once lawmakers eventually returned, several told Fox News they said the Texas Department of Public Safety officers were now “assigned” to them, and would sometimes patrol their offices or even follow them in the Capitol building. Lawmakers said they even had to sign “permission slips” to leave the Capitol as part of the new measures to ensure quorum.

Collier’s office declined to comment further to Fox News, saying that the Texas House of Representatives was still in session. Fox News reached out to the offices of Booker and Newsom for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.