Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on 12 August asked a Tarrant County court to hold former Democratic congressman Beto O’Rourke in criminal contempt, alleging he defied a temporary restraining order that bars fundraising for the Texas House Democrats who have left the state to block a Republican redistricting bill. The motion cites O’Rourke’s weekend appearances in Fort Worth and Abilene, where he urged supporters to donate to his group Powered by People and told rallygoers, “There are no refs in this game, … f— the rules.” Paxton contends those appeals violated Judge Megan Fahey’s 8 August order, which prohibits O’Rourke from soliciting or distributing money to cover the lawmakers’ travel, lodging and $500-a-day fines. He is seeking fines of $500 for each solicitation and asking that O’Rourke be jailed for up to 180 days, or until he pledges to comply with the court’s directives. O’Rourke denies wrongdoing, saying Paxton misrepresented his remarks and that his fundraising complies with the order. His attorneys have told the court they will seek sanctions against the attorney general for what they call a “frivolous” filing. Judge Fahey has set a hearing for 26 August to determine whether O’Rourke will be found in contempt.