A judge in Georgia on Friday found that U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is qualified to run for reelection, concluding that a group of voters represented by a liberal group who had challenged her eligibility failed to prove she engaged in any wrong doing relating to the January 6th protest at the Capitol. The decision will now go to Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
Before reaching his decision, state Administrative Law Judge Charles Beaudrot held a daylong hearing in April that included arguments from attorneys on both sides as well as testimony from Greene herself in addition to receiving an extensive briefing.
State law says Beaudrot must submit his findings to Raffensperger, who has to decide whether or not Greene should be removed from the ballot.
Raffensperger is being challenged by a candidate backed by former President Donald Trump in this month’s GOP primary and would likely face huge blowback from voters if he were to disagree with Beaudrot’s finding.
A Raffensperger spokesperson said in an email that he had received Beaudrot’s recommendation and “will release his final decision soon.”
Greene applauded Beaudrot’s finding and called the challenge to her eligibility an “unprecedented attack on free speech, on our elections, and on you, the voter.”
“But the battle is only beginning,” she said in a statement. “The left will never stop their war to take away our freedoms.” She added, “This ruling gives me hope that we can win and save our country.”
The challenge to Greene’s eligibility was filed by Free Speech for People, a liberal election and campaign finance reform group, on behalf of five voters who allege the GOP congresswoman played a significant role in the Jan. 6, 2021 protest.
Greene is a conservative firebrand and Trump ally who has become one of the GOP’s biggest fundraisers in Congress by standing strong on conservative values and refusing to back down to liberal attacks.
During the hearing, Greene stood strong on her belief that widespread election fraud occurred in the 2020 election and that the presidency was stolen from President Donald Trump.
Greene also acknowledged encouraging a rally to support Trump, but she said she wasn’t aware of plans to storm the Capitol Greene said she used social media posts to encourage people to be safe and stay calm.
James Bopp, a lawyer for Greene, argued his client engaged in protected political speech and was, herself, a victim of the protest on the Capitol, not a participant.
Beaudrot wrote that there’s no evidence that Greene participated in the attack on the Capitol or that she communicated with or gave directives to people who were involved.
“Whatever the exact parameters of the meaning of ‘engage’ as used in the 14th Amendment, and assuming for these purposes that the Invasion was an insurrection, Challengers have produced insufficient evidence to show that Rep. Greene ‘engaged’ in that insurrection after she took the oath of office on January 3, 2021,” he wrote.
Once Raffensperger determines whether Greene is able to run, either side has 10 days to appeal it in Fulton County Superior Court. Raffensperger is facing a primary challenge on the May 24 ballot after he refused to acknowledge the questions surrounding widespread voter fraud in the Presidential election.
Free Speech for People has filed similar challenges in Arizona and North Carolina and only challenge republicans.
Greene has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of the law that the voters are using to try to keep her off the ballot. That suit is pending.
