Illinois governor said he would block any attempt to arrest Democratic lawmakers who fled Texas

Illinois Democratic Governor JB Pritzker said Wednesday he will block any attempt to arrest state lawmakers who fled Texas to prevent Republicans from picking up five additional House seats during the midterm elections. Pritzker's remarks during an interview with News Not Noise came after Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn asked FBI Director Kash Patel to help bring progressive lawmakers back to the Lone Star State after committing one of the most controversial acts committed by any Democratic leader in recent years.

"Our state troopers protect everybody in Illinois and anybody who’s here in Illinois. And so, whether it’s federal agents coming to Illinois or state rangers from Texas, if you haven’t broken federal law, you’re basically unwelcome and there’s no way that our state legislators here — the Texas state legislators — can be arrested," Pritzker told reporter Jessica Yellin.

"Donald Trump does not follow the law."

At another point in the interview, the Democratic governor detailed that any attempts to force the return of Democratic lawmakers who fled Texas would be illegal, arguing that President Donald Trump was nothing more than a figure who often acts outside the law. Similarly, Pritzker commented to Yellin during the interview that what the Republicans were trying to do in Texas was illegal, as they were sabotaging the U.S. Constitution.

"Look, we follow the law and the law is what I just laid it out to be. But, as you know, Donald Trump does not follow the law. Indeed, he’s a convicted felon. And in Texas, they are also not following the law. They are thwarting the Constitution with the Voting Rights Act and making threats that they can’t carry out. John Cornyn, of course, is running against Ken Paxton for his seat in the U.S. Senate; and so they’re fighting, bickering over who can be tougher on this topic," Pritzker said.