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Texas AG Seeks Jail Time for Beto O’Rourke Over Court-Blocked Fundraising

The motion would allow fines or jail for alleged fundraising violations ahead of next week’s hearing.

Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu speaks during a press conference at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Chicago's Marquette Park on August 13, 2025.
A member of the Texas Department of Public Safety stands outside the Texas State Capitol building in Austin, Texas, on August 13, 2025.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - AUGUST 03: Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke speaks during the 2020 Public Service Forum hosted by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) at UNLV on August 3, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Nineteen of the 24 candidates running for the Democratic party's 2020 presidential nomination are addressing union members in a state with one of the largest organized labor populations in the United States. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a contempt motion in Tarrant County seeking $500 per violation and up to six months in jail for O’Rourke’s alleged breach of an August 8 restraining order.
  • Paxton’s filing points to O’Rourke’s Fort Worth rally remarks urging text donations and subsequent social-media solicitations as evidence of contempt.
  • O’Rourke and his lawyers deny any violations and have lodged a counter-lawsuit in El Paso to block Paxton’s investigation into Powered by People.
  • Judge Megan Fahey has scheduled a hearing on August 19 to consider a permanent injunction and resolve the contempt claims.
  • More than 50 Democrats remain out of state to deny Republicans a quorum over a mid-decade congressional map that could add several GOP seats ahead of 2026.