New York state Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 16 other attorneys general around the nation in calling for the U.S. Department of Justice to open a civil rights investigation into raids by the Texas attorney general’s office that targeted Latino voting rights organizers, candidates and volunteers, her office announced Thursday.

The raids were conducted on Aug. 20 in the San Antonio area and seized personal property of local organizers and candidates for office and ordered by Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Volunteers whose homes were searched included an 80-year-old woman who told her associates that agents were at her house for two hours and took medicine, along with her smartphone and watch.

Paxton said a local prosecutor referred to his office “allegations of election fraud and vote harvesting” during the 2022 election but no charges have been filed against any targets of the searches.

James wants the DOJ to investigate if the raids constitute violations of civil rights, including the right to vote.

“The victims were targeted simply because of their work to increase political participation in the Latino community. Trying to intimidate volunteers and candidates from participating in the electoral process is unacceptable,” James said in a statement. “I am proud to lead my fellow attorneys general in urging the DOJ to investigate this incident, because we all stand for the rule of law in our states and throughout the nation. We cannot normalize voter intimidation or abusive government interference in our free and fair elections.”

In a letter to the DOJ, James and the coalition argue the Texas attorney general’s office sought to intimidate voters of color by conducting raids and seizing the property of organizers and Latino candidates.

Joining James are the state AGs of Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.