Judge freezes Beto O’Rourke’s ability to send money, property outside of Texas
Democratic activist Beto O’Rourke and his nonprofit Powered by People are no longer allowed to send money out of Texas, a Tarrant County district judge ruled on Friday.
348th District Court Judge Megan Fahey issued the freeze as an expansion of an original restraining order filed against O’Rourke on Aug. 8 as the result of a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, according to court documents. Fahey’s ruling came one day after lawyers for O’Rourke argued in a downtown Fort Worth courtroom that the funds are a form of free speech protected under the First Amendment.
The dispute stems from O’Rourke and his organization’s effort to fund Texas Democrats who fled the state to deny the legislature a chance to vote on redistricting legislation, the Star-Telegram previously reported.
Fahey also denied O’Rourke’s motion to move the proceedings to El Paso County, according to court documents. O’Rourke’s attorneys argued that El Paso County was the proper venue because it is where the activist and former congressman lives and where his nonprofit does business.
In a Sept. 2 hearing, Fahey will decide whether to issue an injunction against O’Rourke, according to court documents.
“In Texas, lawless actions have consequences, and Beto’s finding that out the hard way,” Paxton said in a statement on Saturday. “His fraudulent attempt to pad the pockets of the rogue cowards abandoning Texas has been stopped, and now the court has rightly frozen his ability to continue to send money outside of Texas.”
Neither O’Rourke nor his lawyers could immediately be reached for comment on Saturday.
In a post on X, O’Rourke wrote, “Thanks to everyone who has joined us in this fight for Texas, we’ve been able to donate over $1 MILLION to the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, the Texas House Democratic Caucus, and the Mexican American Legislative Caucus during the special session.”
This story was originally published August 16, 2025 at 3:44 PM.
