The chair of the Texas House Democratic caucus remained defiant Thursday in the face of one US senator’s bid to enlist the FBI’s help in returning him and his state House colleagues to the state.

Gov. Gregg Abbott says state Democrats who skipped town to derail a GOP-backed redistricting effort could face expulsion from office and even potential felony charges.

The warrants apply only within state lines, making them largely symbolic as most of the legislators in question decamped to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts.