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Texas Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier left a private call this week with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other party leaders abruptly after she said she had been warned it was a felony for her to be on the call from the Texas Capitol.

Collier was on a video call with Newsom, DNC Chair Ken Martin, and other Democrats while the Texas House of Representatives was in session on a floor debate for a redistricting bill that was backed by former President Donald Trump. The lawmaker said during the call that the map would be “in violation” of the Voting Rights Act and would “disenfranchise” the minority communities’ opportunity to elect who they want to office.

“This bill will allow and will prevent Black and brown individuals from electing the candidates that they want to because they’re cracking and packing these districts,” Collier said.

Collier was on the call for about 30 minutes before she disconnected from it while Martin was speaking. “Sorry, I have to leave. They said it’s a felony for me to do this,” she told the call before turning to address someone off camera.

“I’m sorry. I’m on this call. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I can’t be on the floor or in the bathroom,” Collier said, before turning back to the call and addressing them for the last time.

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

The abrupt scene caught the group by surprise, and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker immediately chimed in about how “outrageous” the moment was, and thanked Collier for “helping lead this fight.”

“You guys have no idea how much character, how much integrity, that you have in that bathroom. Let me tell you something, Rep. Collier in the bathroom has more dignity than Donald Trump in the Oval Office,” Booker said.

Newsom nodded in agreement, and 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.”

Texas Redistricting Fight Moves West to California

The dramatic moment between Collier and an unidentified person came as Texas and California Democrats are locked in a fight over congressional redistricting that could shape the balance of power for the next decade.

The confrontation also comes after dozens of Democratic Texas House members fled the state for two weeks earlier this year in an attempt to deny Republicans a quorum and block the legislation from being voted on. The exodus was one of the most high-profile game plans Democrats have attempted in recent memory to deny Republicans a quorum, and Gov. Greg Abbott and other GOP leaders eventually ordered the Democrats to be arrested if they did not return to the state. Lawmakers who fled were threatened by state leaders with being removed from office if they did not return.

Democrats have since returned to Austin, but many say the experience was a wholly changed one once they returned. Members reported to Texas media that DPS troopers were assigned to monitor them, and they were often found stationed outside lawmakers’ offices or in back-and-forth proximity in the state Capitol. Members described signing “permission slips” to be allowed to leave the Capitol as state leaders implemented new security measures to ensure that quorum was secured once Democrats returned.

The bill that was under debate when Collier spoke on the call would add as many as five Republican congressional seats to Texas representation, a gain that Democrats say would give the party entrenched power in the state for the next decade.

Seeking to neutralize the Texas effort, California Democrats announced that they, too, were moving to redraw congressional maps to their benefit. Newsom and the DCCC released a new congressional map in California on Monday that would likely cancel out five Republican seats, potentially erasing the GOP gains secured in Texas.

The map was released on Friday with a description of how the new lines would help Democrats win back power in the state in a way that would counter the GOP advantage created by Texas.

The fight over redistricting in Texas is a development that has already found its way into the national political conversation as both parties seek to win control of Congress in the upcoming midterm elections. With both sides hoping to gain ground, every seat has become a bargaining chip.

Democrats have seized on the fight over voting rights in Texas in particular as a symbol of how the party’s rights are being chipped away with each new district that is established. The two-state fight over representation has also now spread to party leaders outside of the Lone Star State.

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

Collier’s abrupt departure will continue to be a lasting moment of the fight: a lawmaker cut off her party leaders from a Capitol bathroom after being warned it was a crime to be on the call.