Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday asked a Tarrant County district court to hold former U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke in criminal contempt, alleging O’Rourke ignored a temporary restraining order that bars him from fundraising for Texas House Democrats who left the state to block a Republican redistricting plan. The motion, filed 12 August, claims O’Rourke continued to solicit donations through ActBlue and at a Fort Worth rally after the order was issued on 8 August by Judge Megan Fahey. Paxton’s filing seeks fines of up to $500 for each alleged violation and requests that O’Rourke be jailed for as long as six months unless he pledges to comply. The attorney general is also asking the court to revoke the nonprofit registration of O’Rourke’s political group, Powered by People, which Paxton says is funneling money toward lawmakers’ travel, lodging and other personal expenses rather than political activity. The restraining order stems from Paxton’s lawsuit accusing O’Rourke of running a “misleading financial-influence scheme” to bankroll more than 50 Democratic legislators who fled Texas, depriving the House of a quorum needed to pass the mid-decade map. Judge Fahey wrote last week that the state had shown a likelihood that the fundraising violated deceptive-trade and campaign-finance laws. O’Rourke, through his attorney Mimi Marziani, denies any breach of the order and says Paxton misquoted his rally remarks. The defense plans to ask the court to sanction Paxton, calling the contempt motion “frivolous.” The court has not set a hearing date.