Updated May 6, 2022 at 6:00 PM ET
Georgia officials have ruled that Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene should remain on the re-election ballot after a group of voters and a supportive rights group officially challenged her candidacy for her role in the Capitol riots.
On Friday, a state administrative judge said the attorneys challenging Greene’s run could not prove she was involved in a Jan. 6, 2021 riot.
The plaintiffs had asked the state to disqualify Greene, citing a provision in the constitution that bars members of Congress who support an insurgency from holding office.
Later Friday, Georgia’s Secretary of State, Republican Brad Raffensperger, who had the final say, announced he would follow the judge’s recommendation.
“The evidence in this matter is insufficient to establish that Rep. Greene … was ‘participated in insurrection or rebellion,’ under the 14th Amendment,” Judge Charles Beaudrot wrote in his ruling. “Therefore, the court holds that the defendant is qualified to run as a candidate for the 14th congressional district of Georgia.”
Plaintiffs could attempt to appeal the decision.
In a tweet following Beaudrot’s verdict, Greene wrote, “CLEARED.”
Greene testified under oath last month and answered “I don’t remember” or “I don’t remember” to a series of questions about the days leading up to January 6th.
In one case, when asked by plaintiffs’ attorneys if she had spoken to then-President Donald Trump, White House officials, or other members of Congress about activating martial law, Greene said she could not remember.
Days later, CNN reported a spate of text messages allegedly from then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. They included a text by Greene, who wrote that some members of Congress had invoked martial law.
On the witness stand, the congresswoman repeated unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud and repeatedly said her charged rhetoric before Jan. 6 referred to contesting the election count, not inciting violence.
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