Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed an Emergency Motion for Contempt against former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke, seeking his arrest for allegedly defying a court order less than a day after it was issued, as reported [1] by The Gateway Pundit.
Paxton is asking a Tarrant County court to hold O’Rourke in contempt, impose financial penalties, and confine him to jail until he agrees to comply with the order.
On August 8, 2025, Paxton [2] secured a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) prohibiting O’Rourke and his political organization, Powered by People, from raising funds through ActBlue for the personal expenses of Texas Democratic legislators who left the state to block Republican legislation.
The court order specifically barred fundraising for travel, lodging, meals, and the payment of fines for the lawmakers involved.
Court filings allege O’Rourke violated the TRO the following day during a rally in Fort Worth. In remarks to attendees, O’Rourke reportedly dismissed [3] the restrictions, stating:
“Listen, you may say to yourself: Well those aren’t the rules. There are no refs in this game, f**k the rules, we are gonna win whatever it takes. We’re gonna take this to em’ in every way that we can.”
According to the motion, O’Rourke also promoted a prohibited fundraising effort during the same event by displaying the message “Text FIGHT to 20377” on a livestream, directing supporters to an ActBlue donation page for the expenses barred under the TRO.
BETO O’ROURKE: “There are no refs in this game. Fuck the rules! We’re gonna win, whatever it takes!” pic.twitter.com/XKNyjI5qQk [4]
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) August 10, 2025 [5]
The filing states that he later posted the fundraising link on X and repeated the solicitation at a town hall in Abilene.
Paxton’s motion characterizes O’Rourke’s actions as deliberate and defiant, arguing that the repeated solicitations show an intentional disregard for the court’s order.
The Attorney General is seeking $500 fines for each violation and immediate incarceration until O’Rourke agrees to comply with the restrictions.
“In light of Defendant O’Rourke’s repeated statements disparaging this Court’s TRO and announcing his intent to continue violating the order—because, ‘f*ck the rules’—the State requests Defendant O’Rourke be confined to jail unless and until he demonstrates a willingness to abide by the Court’s orders pending the outcome of this lawsuit,” the motion reads.
BREAKING: I’m taking action to hold Robert Francis O’Rourke in contempt for violating a court order and scamming Texans.
Beto is about to find out that running your mouth and ignoring the rule of law has consequences in Texas.
It’s time to lock him up. pic.twitter.com/JZO4cbBkt1 [6]
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) August 12, 2025 [7]
A hearing date on the contempt motion has not yet been set. The lawsuit over the fundraising restrictions remains pending in Tarrant County.