Texas Democrats Could Be Arrested Today As Redistricting Feud Escalates

Texas Democrats believe they could be arrested for fleeing the state to avoid taking part in a session seeking to redistrict congressional districts to boost Republicans.

Dozens of state lawmakers have made their way to Illinois, with others going to Boston or Albany, New York. Speaking to press on Sunday, Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu said that even though Governor Greg Abbott doesn't have the authority to send troopers across state lines, "we don't know what Donald Trump's going to do."

"That's not far-fetched from arresting state legislators because they feel like it, and consequences be damned," Wu added.

Governor Greg Abbott, on his end, said that if Democrats don't return to the state by 3 p.m. CT Monday, he would invoke an opinion by the Texas AG that will allow him to remove them from the House.

"I will use my full extradition authority to demand the return to Texas of any potential out-of-state felons," Abbott said in a statement. Democrats, in turn, gave a terse answer: "Come and take it."

Abbott added that lawmakers "may also have committed felonies" if they solicited "funds to evade the fines they will incur under House rules." He was making reference to reports about Democrats fundraising to that end. The Texas Tribune noted that lawmakers would face a daily $500 fine, as well as the threat of arrest. They would also need to overcome the fact that Texas House rules forbid them from using campaign coffers to pay fines, but people involved in the strategy said there is already a strategy in place. About $1 million a month would be needed to finance the move.

Democrats are using other tools at their disposal to fight against the move. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has begun deploying tens of thousands of advocates to fight against redistricting efforts.

ABC News detailed that the initiative involves 30,000 people who will make calls to "persuadable Republican Texas voters" in districts held by the GOP to discuss the initiative.

Texas Republicans' first draft of the state's congressional targets members in Austin, Dallas and Houston metro areas and in South Texas.

Prominent Democrats New York and California governors Kathy Hochul and Gavin Newsom have also warned that they will retaliate in their own states if Texas moves forward. "I won't sit by while Donald Trump and Texas Republicans try to steal our nation's future," Hochul said in a social media publication last week. Newsom, on his end, said the state "won't sit back and watch this happen."