A dispute over a plan to re-draw electoral boundaries in the US state of Texas has escalated again after a senator said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had agreed to help find Democrats who have fled the state.
The FBI would not confirm whether they agreed to help and the senator, Republican John Cornyn of Texas, did not specify what kind of assistance the FBI would offer.
It comes a day after some Democrats were forced to evacuate a hotel where they were staying in Illinois, as they protest Republicans’ efforts to change the map of congressional districts
Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump said the FBI “may” have to get involved.
Sen Cornyn said in a statement that FBI Director Kash Patel had “approved my request for the FBI to assist state and local law enforcement in locating runaway Texas House Democrats”.
On Tuesday, Sen Cornyn wrote to the FBI asking it to get involved, saying he was “concerned that legislators who solicited or accepted funds to aid in their efforts to avoid their legislative duties may be guilty of bribery or other public corruption offenses,”.
It is not clear whether federal officers were already involved in the search for more than 50 state lawmakers who have left Texas. The location of many of them is well known. On Tuesday they held a press conference in a Chicago-area hotel decrying the gerrymandering attempt.
The escalation comes one day after a bomb threat was called into a hotel where some of the Democrats were staying.
“This morning, a threat was made against the safety of the members of the Texas House Democratic Caucus,” Texas House Democrats wrote on Twitter. “We are safe, we are secure, and we are undeterred. We are grateful for Governor Pritzker, local, and state law enforcement for their quick action to ensure our safety.”
On Tuesday, Trump was asked whether the FBI should get involved in the matter, and replied “they may have to”, adding “it almost looks like [Democrats have] abandoned the state”.
“I know they want them back. Not only the attorney general, the governor wants them back,” Trump said. “So a lot of people have demanded they come back. You can’t just sit it out. You have to go back. You have to fight it out. That’s what elections are all about.”
The move to flee the state is part of a tactic to block a vote in the Texas House on redistricting. The proposal by Republicans would create five more Republican-leaning seats in the US House of Representatives, where the party holds a slim majority.
At least two-thirds of the 150-member state legislative body in Texas must be present to proceed with the vote. The quorum is unreachable while they are out of the state.
Texas Democrats have said the state’s governor and Republicans are trying to silence them.
Gene Wu, chairman of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, has accused Greg Abbott of seeking to “silence my dissent by removing a duly-elected official from office”, and argued “my constitutional duty is to not be a willing participant”.