North Carolinians crowded into Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville Sunday for a chance top hear from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. The 83-year-old Vermont senator is using the August congressional recess for a series of stops across the nation billed as the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour.

Senator Bernie Sanders, a longtime opponent of gerrymandering who called Texas Republicans’ redistricting plans “pathetic,” said partisan line-drawing undermines the political process and urged Democrats “to fight back.”

Speaking in Chicago, Josey Garcia said Texas Democrats who fled the state to fight redistricting have not committed any crimes.