The political standoff at the Texas Capitol intensified Friday as Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit seeking to remove 13 Democratic state representatives from office over their continued absence from the House floor.

The move follows Gov. Greg Abbott's earlier request to the Texas Supreme Court to vacate the seat of House Democratic leader Gene Wu. 

Paxton's lawsuit expands the scope, targeting lawmakers he says have been especially vocal in refusing to return for a vote on a controversial redistricting plan.

Four North Texas lawmakers named

The 13 lawmakers named in the lawsuit represent less than a quarter of the more than 50 Democrats who remained absent Friday.

Among those targeted are four from North Texas: Mihaela Plesa, Chris Turner, Ana-Maria Ramos, and Jessica González.

"These cowards deliberately sabotaged the constitutional process and violated the oath they swore to uphold," Paxton said in a written statement. "Their out-of-state rebellion cannot go unchecked, and the business of Texas must go on."

Turner responds to lawsuit

Rep. Chris Turner of Arlington, one of the lawmakers named in the suit, dismissed the legal action as political theater.

"This is just more bluster and rhetoric from Abbott, Paxton, et cetera," Turner said in an interview. "This wasn't a surprise. Paxton telegraphed he was going to do something like this earlier in the week. I think that whatever he's filed in the Supreme Court today, which I haven't even had a chance to read yet, I think it's without merit. My Democratic colleagues and I are fulfilling our legislative duties by exercising our right to break quorum and stop consideration of this discriminatory redistricting map. We are standing up for our constituents and fulfilling our oath of office — something that Ken Paxton knows very little about."

Lawsuit also targets Beto O'Rourke's group

In a separate legal action, Paxton's office announced it has filed suit in Tarrant County against former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke and his organization, Powered by People, for fundraising in support of the absent Democrats.

A temporary restraining order has been granted to prevent the group from accepting or distributing additional funds, Paxton's office said Friday.