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Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier abruptly left a private call between Gov. Gavin Newsom and other party leaders on Wednesday after being told it was a felony for her to be on the call while in the Texas Capitol.

“I have to go. They said it’s a felony for me to do this. Sorry,” Collier told the group as she disconnected the call during a conference that the group was holding on the controversial redistricting bill in Texas.

Collier joined California’s governor, Newsom, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, and other leaders on a video call while the Texas House of Representatives debated a redistricting bill advanced by former President Donald Trump, NBC News reported. During her remarks on the call, the lawmaker said that the new proposed map is in direct violation of the Voting Rights Act and would disenfranchise communities of color from electing 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.

Collier, however, left the call 30 minutes later while Martin was speaking on the video call. “Sorry, I have to go. They said it’s a felony for me to do this. I can’t be on the floor or in the bathroom,” she said.

Collier then turned to a man behind the camera and said, “You told me I was only allowed to be here in the bathroom.”

“You told me I was only allowed to be here in the bathroom,” Collier reiterated while pointing to the man in the background, after which she turned back to the screen to say, “No, hang on. Bye everybody. I’ve got to go.”

The Republican Party, meanwhile, has argued that the charge was unfounded and false.

The incident left many of the call members in disbelief and shock. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker was among the first to react after the incident.

“This is outrageous,” Booker immediately said.

Booker then praised the Texas Democratic lawmaker for having more character than former President Trump.

“Let me tell you something, Rep. Collier in the bathroom has more dignity than Donald Trump in the Oval Office,” he said.

Governor Newsom of California appeared to concur and nodded in agreement. Booker continued by charging that the lawmaker was being targeted and reprimanded for being black.

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

“That is outrageous what they just tried to do. 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,” he added.

Texas-California Feud Over New Congressional District Maps

This comes after more than 50 Texas Democratic members of the House earlier fled the state for two weeks in what was dubbed an impeachment stunt in a desperate attempt to stop Republicans from garnering a quorum to push through the redistricting bill in Texas.

The Texas government had responded to the outrage by arresting the members and later threatening to remove them from office if they did not return.

As the Democrats returned to Austin for the legislature’s session, they claimed that the environment at the Capitol had changed since they left. State legislators had been assigned personal bodyguards in the form of Texas Department of Public Safety officers.

In several instances, the DPS officers were placed in their offices to monitor their movements within the chambers. Some legislators also had to obtain “permission slips” each time they wanted to leave the Capitol, according to Roll Call.

The bill, if passed, would add as many as five Republican congressional seats in Texas. That is a move that Democrats have said will cement a 10-year Republican rule. In a bid to challenge the Texas Republicans’ move, California Democrats unveiled a new redistricting plan on Friday in what would be the most significant shift in the party’s congressional map in years.

If approved, it would completely wipe out the five Republican seats in the state. Governor Gavin Newsom, in a statement, said he had asked the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) to spearhead the changes that would redraw the congressional map, according to The Guardian.

“The newly released data from today show how Democrats would be reshaping representation on the West Coast and in a way that will blunt the expected GOP gains in Texas,” Newsom said.

As the battles over the new congressional districts are heating up in states like Texas and California, they have found their way into national politics. In the coming 2022 midterms, control of the Senate and House of Representatives is on the line.