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Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Austin, abruptly ended a private call with Democratic leaders earlier this week, claiming that she was told it was a felony to be on the call while in the Texas Capitol.

Collier appeared on the Zoom call with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, and other members of the party, as the Texas House of Representatives debated a redistricting bill supported by former President Donald Trump. During the call, Collier discussed a map that she says would weaken protections in the Voting Rights Act and allow for minority groups to elect their preferred candidates.

“This bill will prevent Black and brown individuals from choosing the candidate of their choice because they’re cracking and packing these districts,” Collier said, referring to the techniques of dividing or consolidating voting blocs to dilute their political influence.

While Martin was speaking about 30 minutes into the conversation, Collier left the room, returning to tell the other officials that she had to end the call.

“I have to leave, they said it’s a felony for me to do this,” Collier told the group. “I can’t be on the floor or in the bathroom,” Collier added, also speaking to someone off camera.

“You told me I was only allowed to be here in the bathroom,” Collier continued, as she appeared to confront the person to her right.

Collier, returning her attention to the call, ended the conversation shortly after. “No, hang on. Bye everybody. I’ve got to go.” She hung up.

The development came as tensions over Texas’s controversial redistricting bill, which Democrats have warned would violate federal voting protections, came to a head.

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey expressed outrage at Collier’s treatment. “What’s going on there is outrageous. And by the way, Rep. Collier in the bathroom has more dignity than Donald Trump in the Oval Office,” Booker said after Collier left the meeting.

Newsom appeared to agree with the sentiment, and Booker continued. “Listen, you know, what they’re trying to do right there is silence an American leader, silence a Black woman, and that is outrageous,” Booker added. “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 Redistricting Efforts Spark Dramatic Showdowns in Texas, California

The incident follows one of the most dramatic standoffs in recent redistricting battles, as Dozens of Democrats in the Texas House fled the state for two weeks in a failed effort to block Republicans from establishing a quorum, effectively stopping consideration of a redistricting bill. But on the governors’ orders, state troopers were directed to arrest the legislators, and said the absent lawmakers would be removed from office if they did not return.

Members, some of whom still refused to speak on the record over fears for their safety, returned to Austin last week to find that the Texas Department of Public Safety had made a show of force at the state Capitol, with troopers following them through hallways, guarding their offices, and more. The presence has only grown since members returned, according to some of the lawmakers, and in some cases, members have even said they have had to sign “permission slips” if they wish to leave the Capitol.

Texas Democrats are already facing a redistricting plan that could add as many as five Republican congressional seats, a prospect the party says could solidify GOP power in the state for the next decade. Newsom, in partnership with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), sought to introduce a new map in California on Thursday to balance out Republicans’ gains in Texas.

The map released by Newsom and the DCCC on Friday would eliminate as many as five Republican congressional seats, mirroring potential GOP advances that could be won in Texas.

Collier’s office did not respond to a request for further comment on the subject, but said that she could not provide more details because the Texas House was in session. Fox News Digital reached out to Booker’s office for comment, but did not hear back immediately. Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.