ATLANTA — Georgia Republican U.S. Marjorie Taylor Greene testified Friday at a legal hearing involving a challenge filed by constituents who want her banned from seeking another term in Congress because she promoted the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The challenge filed by five of her constituents contends that the first-term Republican violated a provision of the 14th Amendment by engaging in an insurrection to block the peaceful transfer of power to Joe Biden.
Greene took the witness stand shortly before noon and immediately faced sharp questions about her role in the pro-Donald Trump mob. In a tense back-and-forth, she tried to avoid several of the queries and was admonished by an attorney for the challengers, who sought to treat her as a hostile witness.
She has said she played no role in the deadly mob that stormed the Capitol and that the challenge is nothing more than a publicity stunt by her political enemies. Her attorneys framed the legal battle as an attempt to deprive Georgians of a choice at the ballot box.
“The right to vote is at stake – right here, right now,” said Greene attorney James Bopp. “Because they want to deny the right to vote to the thousands of people in the 14th District of Georgia by having Greene removed from the ballot.”
Ron Fein, an attorney for the challengers, told Administrative Judge Charles Beaudrot that the most devastating witness against Greene is her own remarks on social media and in interviews, including calling the protests surrounding Jan. 6 a “1776 moment.”
“Instead, it turned out to be our 1861 moment,” said Fein, the legal director of Free Speech For People.
Greene became the first member of Congress to publicly testify under oath about the events leading to the Jan. 6 mob, which began with a pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” rally that she had promoted on social media.
At one point in the back-and-forth, Greene began to criticize House Democrats, prompting Celli to cut her off and urge her to answer her question. Beaudrot soon stepped in, seeking a sense of calm.
“This is not theater. This is not an argument before the Supreme Court,” he said. “This is an evidentiary hearing.”
The state administrative court hearing, in a downtown Atlanta office building, was held under intense scrutiny.
More than a dozen reporters gathered outside the Peachtree Street tower for live broadcasts. Inside the fourth-floor hearing room, Greene supporters erupted into applause as she entered with her attorneys, triggering a stern rebuke from a law enforcement officer.
Greene was joined in the hearing room by Florida U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, another controversial Republican who is one of her most steadfast allies in Congress.
After the hearing, which is expected to last through much of Friday, Beaudrot will deliver his findings to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who will then determine if Greene is qualified to appear on the ballot.
It will put Raffensperger, who is facing a Donald Trump-backed Republican challenger, in a peculiar spot. He attracted Trump’s fury after he refused the then-president’s demand to “find” enough votes to overturn Biden’s victory.
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