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Texas Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier abruptly left a private call with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democratic leaders earlier this week after she said she had been told it was a felony to participate in the meeting while in the Texas Capitol.

The moment, which was captured on video and posted on social media, highlighted the ongoing drama in Texas over the state’s hotly contested redistricting bill, which Democrats claim infringes on federal voting protections.

Collier joined a video conference call with Newsom, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, and other leaders while also on the House floor in the Texas Capitol as the state House was in the process of debating a redistricting bill that was backed by former President Donald Trump. During her comments on the call, Collier said the map under consideration at the Texas Capitol would violate the Voting Rights Act and would diminish the power of minority communities to vote and to elect candidates of their choosing.

“This bill will ensure that Black and brown individuals will not be able to elect the candidates of their choice because they’re cracking and packing these districts,” Collier said.

At one point, about 30 minutes in, while Martin was in the middle of a sentence, Collier cut off the call to say she had to leave. “Sorry, I have to leave. They said it’s a felony for me to do this,” Collier said before the call. She added, “Apparently, I can’t be on the floor or in the bathroom,” as Collier began speaking to someone off camera.

“You told me I was only allowed to be here in the bathroom,” Collier said to a man who wasn’t in the video meeting. Returning to the call, Collier said, “No, hang on. Bye everybody. I’ve got to go.” With that, Collier hung up.

The incident left other members of the call stunned. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker quickly began to berate the situation as “outrageous” while lauding the behavior of Collier. “Let me tell you something, Rep. Collier in the bathroom has more dignity than Donald Trump in the Oval Office,” Booker said.

Newsom agreed with the assessment, and Booker continued, pushing the moment as one in which the state of Texas and the GOP were trying to suppress a Black female American leader.

“What they’re trying to do right there is silence an American leader, silence a Black woman, and that is outrageous,” Booker said. “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.”

The moment comes during one of the most contentious and closely watched redistricting battles in the country. Days before, dozens of Democratic members of the Texas House had fled the state for two weeks in a bid to block Republicans from having a quorum and passing the legislation. Gov. Greg Abbott and other GOP leaders responded by ordering the legislators to be arrested and further threatened to remove them from office if they didn’t return.

But after Democrats finally returned to Austin, members said the state Capitol felt like a changed place. Lawmakers said Texas Department of Public Safety officers were assigned to shadow them, often by standing guard outside of their offices or walking alongside lawmakers as they moved through the building. Other lawmakers told the Washington Post they were required to sign “permission slips” to leave the Capitol, part of an array of new security measures put in place by GOP leaders to make sure there was a quorum present for the duration of the legislative session.

The bill itself could create as many as five new Republican seats in Congress, a move Democrats say would cement GOP control of the next decade. To that end, California Democrats rolled out their plan on Monday. Newsom and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) announced a new congressional map in California that would effectively undo five Republican seats, the exact number of congressional gains secured by the Texas effort.

On Friday, California rolled out the new congressional map to show how Democrats planned to change representation in the state in a way that would neutralize Republican gains.

The incident was another striking example of how redistricting fights in one state have also bled into the national political sphere. As both parties contest for control of Congress in the next few election cycles, every new district matters. For Democrats, the fight in Texas has also emerged as a symbol of larger concerns around voting rights, with the party choosing to use the event as a rallying cry for defeating what they see as minority voter suppression.

Collier, who can be seen at the bottom left of the group call at the time she left, can be heard saying, “I have to leave this. I’m in the bathroom. I’m sorry. Bye.” She then leaves the call. Collier joined the call along with Texas Democrat state Rep. John Cyrier. Both were on the floor of the Texas Capitol as the state House was debating Texas House Bill 3, a sweeping elections bill.

The bill would also make it a crime to provide someone with food or water if they were voting in line, and would also change how voters can request and vote by mail ballot.