AUSTIN, Texas — Don’t mess with Texas elections. That’s the double-down message Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott delivered Thursday to international poll watchers who plan to come and observe voting on Election Day, tweeting “BRING IT” after the group took offense at being threatened with criminal charges from the state’s top prosecutor.

Abbott, a Republican with a tea party bent who has the “Don’t Tread on Me” logo on his Twitter page, drew a highly publicized line in the sand this week with a letter to the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe.

OSCE observers generally are members of parliament from organization members, which include the United States and 55 countries in Europe and Central Asia. The group has sent observers to poll locations across the U.S. since 2002.

Abbott, citing what he said were reports that OSCE had met with groups that oppose voter ID laws like those Texas has unsuccessfully tried implementing, expressed uncertainty about OSCE’s intentions.