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Texas Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier hopped on a private call with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democratic leaders this week, only to suddenly hang up on them while in the Texas Capitol bathroom, saying she was told it was a felony to be on the meeting.

Collier’s abrupt departure, caught on a conference call with other Democratic leaders, highlighted the tensions brewing over Texas’s controversial redistricting bill, which Democrats fear violates federal protections for voting rights.

Collier was on a video call with Newsom and other party leaders on Wednesday, including DNC Chair Ken Martin, as the Texas House of Representatives was in session considering a redistricting bill backed by former President Donald Trump. During her time on the call, Collier said the proposed map violated the Voting Rights Act and would make it more difficult for minority communities to vote for their preferred candidates.

“This bill will prevent Blacks and browns from being able to choose the candidates of their choice because they’re cracking and packing these districts,” Collier said, citing a common gerrymandering tactic to split or combine voting blocs.

Collier cut off the call around 30 minutes in, as Martin was speaking, telling the other members of the call that she had to hang up. “Sorry, I have to leave. They said it’s a felony for me to do this,” Collier said. “I can’t be on the floor or in the bathroom,” she added to the camera before switching to someone off camera.

“You told me I was only allowed to be here in the bathroom,” Collier said to the off-camera individual. Then, turning back to the camera, “No, hang on. Bye everybody. I’ve got to go.” And with that, Collier hung up.

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker quickly came to Collier’s defense, with the New Jersey senator calling the situation “outrageous” and calling for an investigation. He also congratulated Collier, while in the bathroom, for having more “dignity” than Donald Trump.

“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.

Booker continued, “They’re trying to silence an American leader, trying to 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,” Booker said.

Battle Over Texas Redistricting Spills Into National Fight With California Map

The incident took place as one of the most heated redistricting battles in the nation has erupted between Texas and California, with both states now unveiling congressional maps. Dozens of Texas House Democrats in February staged a high-profile two-week walkout of the state legislature to block Republicans from gaining a quorum and advancing the redistricting legislation. In retaliation, Gov. Greg Abbott and GOP lawmakers had the fleeing lawmakers arrested and threatened to remove them from office if they failed to return.

When Democrats returned to Austin to hold the state Capitol, they returned to a vastly different environment. Members of the Texas legislature said they were assigned Texas Department of Public Safety officers, who were stationed at their offices, and some even followed them around in the state Capitol. Some lawmakers likened it to having to sign “permission slips” to leave the Texas Capitol, all of it as part of new security measures to ensure a quorum.

The bill would add as many as five GOP congressional seats, something Democrats say would entrench Republican power for the next decade. To offset that possibility, California Democrats unveiled their redistricting plans. Newsom and the DCCC unveiled their new congressional map in California on Wednesday, which would eliminate as many as five Republican seats – canceling out the possible GOP gain from Texas.

California Democrats released the map on Friday. As part of a likely national battle for control of Congress in the next round of elections, any new seat could count. Democrats are using the dust-up in Texas as a political rallying cry, using it both as a symbol of voting rights concerns and as an attempt to thwart the Texas effort.

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Booker and Newsom for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. Collier’s office also did not respond to a request for further comment, noting the Texas House was still in session.

The moment is a telling one of the tensions brewing in the Texas Capitol: a lawmaker forced to hang up on her state leaders in a Capitol bathroom, as they were on a call, after being told it was a felony for her to do so. GOP Tells Texas Democrat It’s a Felony to Attend Conference Call With Gov. Newsom, So She Leaves Call in Bathroom

Rep. Nicole Collier (D-Texas) abruptly hung up on a conference call with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats this week after being told by a Republican staffer that it was a felony for her to attend the call while in the Texas Capitol.

The Texas Democrat was on the call with Gov. Gavin Newsom, DNC Chair Ken Martin, and other leaders as the Texas House debated a controversial redistricting bill supported by former President Donald Trump. Collier was participating in the Zoom call from the Texas Capitol in Austin, where the House was in session during the conference call.

Collier, who is Black, spoke during the call and said the redistricting map violated the Voting Rights Act and would make it more difficult for minority voters in Texas to elect 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 told the group.