Marjorie Taylor Greene. (CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty/ Tom Williams)
Firebrand Republican Majorie Taylor Greene has been dubbed an “insurrectionist” by a lawsuit seeking to stop her running for reelection.
The Georgian congresswoman has, among many other things, touted QAnon conspiracy theories, spewed COVID misinformation and compared the mask mandate on the House floor to the Holocaust.
Now bipartisan Texas-based group Free Speech for People has filed a complaint on behalf of Georgian voters arguing that, under the US Constitution, Greene is “ineligible” to serve in the House of Representatives.
Section three of the 14th amendment, known as the “Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause“, states that no one who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” can hold public office in the US.
⛔ICYMI:
Voters in GA are challenging Marjorie Taylor Greene’s candidacy for re-election after her involvement in the 1/6 insurrection. We’ve filed a complaint before the Secretary of State on their behalf. #MTGIsDisqualifiedMore: https://t.co/tNYTDb8BKrhttps://t.co/oJE1oLoeej
— FreeSpeechForPeople (@FSFP) March 24, 2022
The suit, filed with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, stresses that Greene “voluntarily aided and engaged in insurrection to obstruct the peaceful transfer of presidential power”.
The group claimed that the toadying Trump loyalist and first-term elected official has backed debunked claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged to place Joe Biden in the White House.
Before violence tore through the Capitol, Greene fanned the flames by dubbing the protest Republican’s “1776 moment”, a codeword in far-right circles to refer to attacking a government building.
“You can’t allow it to just transfer power ‘peacefully’ like Joe Biden wants and allow him to become our president because he did not win this election,” Greene said at the time, according to the Republican Accountability Project.
“He’s guilty of treason. It’s a crime punishable by death is what treason is. Nancy Pelosi is guilty of treason.”
According to The New Yorker, the group is urging state officials to stop Greene from seeking a second term in elections to be held in January.
“The purpose of the Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause, passed in the wake of the Civil War, is not to punish the oathbreaker but rather to protect the country,” Free Speech for People said in a statement.
“Greene’s actions and the events of January 6 provide, at a minimum, a prima facie case” for disqualiifcation, the lawsuit added.
Free Speech for People has previously levelled legal action against North Carolina Republican congressman Madison Cawthorn.
Like Greene, Cawthorn similarly amplified Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud, a claim that was proven incorrect in dozens of court cases.
A federal judge shrugged off the case 4 March – Free Speech for People plan to lodge an appeal.