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Texas Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier abruptly left a private call with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other party leaders earlier this week after she was allegedly told it would be a felony for her to be a part of the call while on the floor of the Texas Capitol.

The odd exchange between Collier and others on the call Tuesday night highlighted the tensions of the ongoing drama surrounding the state’s contentious redistricting bill that Democrats claim violates federal voting rights protections.

Collier, who was on a video call with Newsom, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, and others, was on the House floor in the Texas Capitol while the state House of Representatives was in the process of a floor discussion on a redistricting map supported by former President Donald Trump. The Texas lawmaker said on the call that the bill’s proposed map violates the Voting Rights Act and would “shorten the ability of minorities and voters of color to elect candidates of choice.”

“The bill will prevent Blacks and browns from choosing the candidates of their choice because they’re cracking and packing these districts,” Collier said.

After speaking for about two minutes about the Texas voting bill, Collier interrupted Martin’s call while he was still speaking to say she had to leave.

“Sorry, I have to leave. They said it’s a felony for me to do this,” Collier said.

“I can’t be on the floor or in the bathroom,” she added while talking to someone off camera.

“You told me I was only allowed to be here in the bathroom,” she told the unknown person.

Collier then turned back to the camera and said, “No, hang on. Bye everybody. I’ve got to go,” as she disconnected from the call.

Several of the people on the call, including New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, looked visibly shocked after Collier left the call.

Booker immediately condemned the situation on the call as “outrageous” while praising Collier for her “dignity.”

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

Newsom nodded along in agreement with Booker. Booker then followed up with, “What they’re trying to do right there is silence an American leader, silence a Black woman, and that is outrageous. 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.”

GOP calls for Democrat lawmakers to be arrested, thrown out of office for Texas redistricting stunt

The tense moment on the call came after a group of Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives fled the state for two weeks in an attempt to prevent Republicans from having a quorum to pass the state’s controversial redistricting bill. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and other Republican leaders had ordered police to arrest the lawmakers who fled and also threatened to remove them from office if they did not return.

The Texas lawmakers eventually returned to Austin last month as lawmakers prepared to resume the legislative session. But Texas Democrats said they had noticed a major change in the atmosphere at the state Capitol. Some lawmakers have said Texas Department of Public Safety officers have been assigned to them, with some reportedly having DPS agents guard their offices or even following lawmakers around the Capitol. A few lawmakers also described having to sign “permission slips” to leave the Capitol building as part of the security measures put in place by the DPS to ensure that a quorum was present.

The Texas bill, if passed, would add as many as five Republican congressional seats in the state, Democrats say, which could help Republicans in Congress for the next decade. In a direct response to the Texas redistricting map, California Democrats announced a redistricting plan of their own.

Working with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, or DCCC, Newsom on Wednesday announced a new congressional map for the state that could erase five Republican seats, or wipe out any gains made by the GOP in Texas.

The map was released on Friday, showing how Democrats planned to redraw representation on the West Coast in a way that could eliminate five Republican seats.

The fight over voting rights and redistricting has increasingly crossed state lines, however, as both parties jockey for control of Congress, and every new district is likely to come with a corresponding advantage.

For Democrats, the fight in Texas has become a symbol of their concerns over voting rights but also a call to arms to fight back and not let the GOP turn back the political gains for minorities made in the past decade.

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of both Booker and Newsom for comment on the matter, but did not hear back at the time of publication. A spokesperson for Collier also did not immediately return a request for comment, citing that the Texas House was still in session.

Collier’s office would not say where the lawmaker was when she was told she was not allowed to be a part of the call with Newsom or the other Democratic leaders.