Texas Democratic state Rep. Ann Johnson doesn’t appear concerned about the possibility of being arrested after leaving the state to block a Republican-led effort to redraw congressional districts.
On Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called on state troopers to locate and arrest any Texas Democrat involved in the walkout, which denied the state House a quorum and halted action on the redistricting plan.
"The threat of arrest, to the other threats that have been made with regard to us losing our positions and losing our jobs, I think shows how desperate Texas Republicans are to try to pull off this coup for President [Donald] Trump," Johnson said in an interview with Scripps News. "He has demanded of them that they go find five congressional seats because he is desperately afraid of the will of the voters coming up next November 2026."
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"Republicans are doing everything they can to try to help him," she added. "But that's why Democrats are breaking quorum. We are taking a stand and recognizing that voice of voters is what's going to be silenced if they go through with this [redistricting]."
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It remains unclear how long the Texas Democrats plan to remain out of the state in protest of the GOP effort to redraw the state's electoral map.
Johnson, who is staying in Illinois, told Scripps News she believes Democrats can "run out the clock" on the issue.
"The Texas governor is the only one who has the power to call a special session and he can call us back over and over again," she said. "But a special session is supposed to be just that, special, to deal with the issues that affect everyday Texans because it's not a normal setting. He is pulling all of us from our families and our jobs and our constituents back home to address an issue."
"Abbott has made it clear, and Texas House Republicans have made it clear, the only issue that they have debated or talked about in the last two weeks is one bill, and that is the redistricting bill," Johnson added. "... If we break this quorum, then the ball is in Gov. Abbott's court. Who do you play for? Do you play for the people of Texas and are you gonna call us back for the issues concerning them? Or are you gonna demand we come back so that you can serve the interest of President Trump? We're going to find out."
In addition to potential arrest, Democrats who fled Texas to other states face a daily fine of up to $500. Johnson said she wasn't concerned about the money.
"That's a small price to pay to try to save democracy in the United States of America," she said. "So when we said we were going to be public servants, we are public servants and we are putting ourselves on the line not for ourselves, but for everybody else."
