Amid historic re-enactors wearing tricorn hats and carrying muskets, more than 120 state legislators from all over the country pretended to overhaul the U.S. Constitution two years ago in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.

But some believe the event was not just a history lesson. Critics say the Williamsburg get-together may have been a dress rehearsal for the real thing, and the implications of that could be both explosive and far-reaching.

Since attending the mock constitutional convention, legislators in at least 27 states have proposed bills calling for an actual convention of states, a Center for Public Integrity review has found. Attendees from five states — Arizona, Illinois, Missouri, North Dakota and Texas — have already successfully passed legislation. And today, similar bills are pending in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Newconservative personalities across the country, including U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Fox News’ Sean Hannity.

To be sure, though, the 2016 mock convention in Virginia wasn’t the origin of this movement. The Center for Public Integrity’s analysis found that attendees had already sponsored similar bills in at least 15 states, even before their arrival.

For years, national groups such as American Legislative Exchange Councilhave been holding workshops and crafting model legislation to gain support from state legislators across the country.

In fact, the calls for a convention of states began decades ago — as did efforts to reverse them. Between 1957 and 1983, 32 states passed a call for a convention to discuss a balanced budget.

Yet 16 states canceled their calls for a convention between 1988 and