Woke representative Jolanda Jones, who fled her home state of Texas alongside dozens of other lawmakers, stepped way out of line during a press conference, cursing at Governor Greg Abbott after the governor accused her and her colleagues of bribery and directed the Texas Rangers to investigate the entire group of Democrats that fled in protest of GOP redistricting plans that would cost their party several House seats.
For background, during a press conference on August 4, 2025, Rep. Jolanda “Jo” Jones (D-TX) addressed reporters alongside New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and multiple other Texas Democrats who fled their state in protest of the GOP’s proposed redistricting plans. Rep. Jones focused on Texas Penal Code Section 36.02, which the state’s Governor, Greg Abbott, has used as a basis for accusing the Democrats of potentially breaking the law through bribery.
Speaking alongside Gov. Hochul and several of her fellow Texas Democrats, Rep. Jones began by saying, “So let me be clear. I am a lawyer. Part of my practice is criminal defense work.” Referring to Gov. Abbott and his case against the Democrats, she continued, “Respectfully, he’s making up some sh–, ok? You trying (sic) to get sound bites, and he has no legal mechanism. And if he did, subpoenas from Texas don’t work in New York, so he’s going to come get us how? Subpoenas in Texas don’t work in Chicago. He’s going to come get us how?”
Continuing, Rep. Jones said, “So let me be clear. He’s putting up smoke and mirrors. And I am hopeful that the media does not follow that.” She went on, “I will also say this. I was on the redistricting committee. I sat in on the meetings. We had three sham hearings with no maps, where people were forced to testify that they were neutral on the maps because of our processes, when actually, I would say about 99.9% of the people were against it.”
Furthermore, the representative made the case that the Republican lawmakers in her state “don’t know what is best for us,” adding, And let me also be clear: my constituents demanded that I be here. So you think I’m going to listen to Donald Trump and Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick and the attorney general — who can’t treat his wife right, who lives on documentation? I think you need to worry about going to jail.”
In addition, Rep. Jones argued that she and her fellow Democrats had fled Texas because they “are paying attention to what our constituents are demanding of us,” adding, “They have literally told us, ‘If you don’t, we will primary you.’ That is how important it is.” She later added, “We are marching. We ain’t fleeing. We are fighting. And we are so incredibly thankful that the governor has hosted us because we need allies.”
Importantly, on the same day, Gov. Abbott issued a press release confirming that he had ordered the Texas Rangers to investigate the delinquent Democrats for possible violation of Texas Penal Code Section 36.02, stating, “Under the Texas Penal Code, any of those Democrats who solicit, accept, or agree to accept…funds to assist in the violation of legislative duties or for purposes of skipping a vote may have violated bribery laws.”
"*" indicates required fields
Moreover, in his press release, the governor clarified that reports had indicated that “many” of the Texas Democrats who fled their state had “solicited or received funds to evade conducting legislative business and casting votes.” This, the governor argued, made them potentially guilty of bribery and…other potential legal violations connected to their refusal to appear for a quorum, conduct business, and cast votes.”
Watch Rep. Jones curse out Gov. Abbott:
Featured image credit: video screengrab