Decision to keep Greene on the ballot now up to Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger.
QUICK FACTS:
- A judge in Georgia on Friday found that U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is qualified to run for reelection, The Associated Press reports.
- State Administrative Law Judge Charles Beaudrot concluded that a group of voters who had challenged Rep. Greene’s eligibility failed to prove that she engaged in insurrection after taking office.
- It had been accused of Greene that she “urged, encouraged and helped facilitate violent resistance to our own government, our democracy and our Constitution” during the Jan 6 Capitol unrest and that she “engaged in insurrection.”
- Greene’s lawyer, James Bopp, argued that his client engaged in protected political speech and was in fact herself a victim of the attack on the Capitol.
WHAT GREENE TOLD A LAWYER SEEKING TO DISQUALIFY HER:
Rep. Greene last month told a lawyer for voters seeking to disqualify her from running for re-election because of comments she made about the Jan 6 Capitol riot, “I was asking people to come for a peaceful march, which everyone is entitled to do.” “I was not asking them to actively engage in violence,” MTG added.
BACKGROUND:
- But the decision to allow Rep. Greene to run for reelection will ultimately be up to Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, AP notes.
- Judge Beaudrot must submit his findings to Raffensperger, according to state law.
- A spokesperson for Raffensperger stated in an email that the secretary of state had received Beaudrot’s recommendation and “will release his final decision soon.”
