Ken Paxton: If Texas Dems Don’t Return Today, We Will Hold Them in Contempt and ‘Hopefully Put Them in Jail’

PIRO: “A.G. Paxton, will we see Texas Democrat lawmakers in handcuffs by the end of today?”
PAXTON: “I don’t know. We’re waiting to see if they show up. You know, Dustin Burrows, our speaker, has given them a deadline of showing up today. If they show up today, we’re all happy, we can get our business done and everybody is good. If they do not show up, we will be in an Illinois courtroom trying to do just that. Not necessarily try to handcuff them, but get them back to the state of Texas, hold them in contempt, and if they refuse to come, hopefully put them in jail.”
SHIMKUS: “And I’ve also heard you talking about taking them to court to potentially get these lawmakers removed from office. Is that still a possibility? And if so, how would that play out?”
PAXTON: “Well, it’s never been done before. Obviously, we’re in unchartered territory with the Democrats leaving during redistricting. Yes, that is something we’re going to try today. If they’re not there today, we’re going to file a motion to remove some of these legislators from office and over time we’ll keep adding more to it. But right now, we’re just hoping that they’ll show up. If they don’t, there’s going to be a lot of action taken by my office today.”