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Texas Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier abruptly hung up on a private call between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democratic leaders this week after she was reportedly told it was a felony for her to join the meeting while on the Capitol grounds.

Collier and other Democrats were on a video conference with Newsom, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, and other leaders on the Democratic strategy to fight Texas’s controversial redistricting bill, which Democrats have said violates federal voting protections, when she appeared in the call saying she had to leave.

The sudden event on Tuesday threw into stark relief the increasing tension in Texas over the deeply controversial redistricting bill. The California governor was on the call with other state officials and Democratic members, including Collier, as the Texas House of Representatives was voting on the GOP-backed measure championed by former President Donald Trump.

During her turn on the call, Collier said the Texas redistricting map violates the Voting Rights Act and would make it more difficult for minority communities to elect the candidates of their choice.

“This bill will prevent Black and brown people from being able to choose the candidate they want to elect, because they’re cracking and packing these districts,” Collier said.

Collier then unexpectedly walked off the call during Martin’s remarks, approximately 30 minutes in, to announce she was leaving the call.

“I have to leave. I’m sorry, but they said it’s a felony for me to be on this call,” Collier told the group on the call while exiting the room.

“I can’t be on the floor or in the bathroom,” she added before pivoting to what appeared to be someone off camera.

“You told me I could only be in the bathroom,” Collier said to the person. She then turned back to face the camera.

“Hang on, bye everybody. I have to go. No, bye,” Collier said before she hung up.

Her actions were met with surprise, and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker was quick to denounce the situation as “outrageous” and to commend Collier for her conduct.

“Let me tell you something. Rep. Collier in the bathroom has more dignity than Donald Trump in the Oval Office. This is outrageous,” Booker said.

Newsom, seated next to Booker, was also nodding along in agreement. Booker continued, saying the situation was “an attempt to silence a black woman.”

“What they’re trying to do right there, in front of America, is silence an American leader. They’re trying to silence a black woman, and that is outrageous,” he said. “What we just witnessed, them trying to shut her down and then saying it’s illegal for her to be in the bathroom and on this call, this is the lengths that they’re going to go in Texas.”

Battle Over Redistricting Intensifies Between Texas and California

The incident comes after one of the most contentious redistricting fights in the nation. In a last-ditch effort to stop the Texas measure from advancing, more than 50 Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives fled the state for two weeks last month in a dramatic stunt to try and prevent Republicans from holding a quorum on the redistricting bill.

Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republican leaders responded by ordering law enforcement to arrest the lawmakers and also threatened to remove them from office if they did not return.

Once Democrats returned to the Texas state Capitol, lawmakers found a different atmosphere there than they had left. Many reported DPS officers were now assigned to follow them around the Capitol, some even guarding their offices or trailing them through the building. To ensure quorum, some lawmakers even reported they were required to sign “permission slips” to leave the Capitol under the new security protocols.

The bill itself could create up to five new Republican congressional districts, which Democrats say could solidify GOP power in the state for the next decade. To combat those losses, California Democrats unveiled their redistricting proposal.

To preempt what could be GOP gains in Texas, Newsom, DCCC, and California Democrats on Monday proposed their new congressional map that would shift the voting lines to likely erase five Republican seats in the Golden State.

The California plan, released on Friday, would likely erase five seats Republicans picked up in Texas.

Redistricting Overlap Begins to See Election Shifts in High-Stakes Fight for Congress

As parties from both sides continue to duke it out in state capitols around the country over redistricting, what happens in one state is already being contested in another, with major implications for which party controls Congress in future elections.

The move by California Democrats is the latest example of how redistricting fights in one state are now bleeding over into national politics. With each side eyeing control of Congress in future elections, every new seat will be taken seriously. For Democrats, the fight in Texas has become a symbol of voting rights and a rallying cry for the party to fight what they say are Republican efforts to suppress minority political power.

Fox News Digital reached out to both the Booker and Newsom offices for additional comment, but did not immediately receive a response. Collier’s office also did not provide any further details to Fox News Digital on the reason for leaving the call, citing that the Texas House was still in session.