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A federal judge seems likely to rule that a lawsuit seeking to bar conspiracy theory-pushing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., from running for re-election can go forward.
The lawsuit, which Free Speech for People filed last month on behalf of Georgia voters, argues that Greene's re-election bid violates the 14th Amendment, which prohibits those who have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from serving in Congress. It asks Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to determine Greene’s eligibility in accordance with Georgia law.
The same group filed a similar lawsuit against GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina in January. But the two lawsuits have taken different trajectories.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg hinted she would allow the case against Greene to continue when she said she had “significant questions and concerns” about a North Carolina judge’s blocking the lawsuit against Cawthorn, according to CNN.
The North Carolina ruling, which is being appealed, cited a post-Civil War law that allowed some Confederates to serve in Congress. But Totenberg said that law — the Amnesty Act of 1872 — wasn’t meant to apply to future insurrectionists.
“I don’t think that the Amnesty Act likely was prospective,” she said in court Friday.
In a federal court filing meant to stop the lawsuit, Greene’s lawyer, who also represents Cawthorn, said Greene “vigorously denies that she ‘aided and engaged in insurrection to obstruct the peaceful transfer of presidential power.’”
But Free Speech for People did a pretty effective job of laying out her violent anti-government rhetoric and her support for the people involved in the Jan. 6 riot.
Its evidence includes a video of Greene criticizing the peaceful transfer of presidential power ahead of the riot. The lawsuit also notes that Greene, who has described Jan. 6 defendants as “political prisoners of war,” suggested in October that the attack was justified by the Declaration of Independence. The suit also refers to Greene’s 2019 claim that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will “suffer death or she’ll be in prison” for treason.
The evidence is clear as day: Greene supported Jan. 6 rioters and targeted political leaders with violent rhetoric. If she’s ultimately allowed to skate on these allegations without paying any sort of repercussion, it certainly won’t be because of a lack of proof.