A public interest group is formally seeking to block far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from seeking reelection, arguing her links to the Capitol insurrection make her ineligible to serve in Congress.
The complaint, filed Thursday by the nonpartisan advocacy group Free Speech For People, asks the Georgia secretary of state to disqualify the extremist first-term representative from reelection under the Constitution’s 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist disqualification clause.”
Greene has staunchly defended the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and notoriously called fellow supporters of then-President Donald Trump to “our 1776 moment” in an interview the day before, the complaint notes.
She “voluntarily aided and engaged in insurrection to obstruct the peaceful transfer of presidential power,” the complaint argues, which makes her “ineligible” to serve in the House of Representatives.
The 14th Amendment states that no person may hold political office who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” or “given aid or comfort” to the nation’s enemies. The section was initially aimed at lawmakers who plotted against the government during the Civil War.
Greene has praised those who stormed the Capitol as “patriots,” and has called those facing criminal charges “political prisoners.” Referring to the rioters, she once invoked the Declaration of Independence and said: “It says to overthrow tyrants.” She also has called for the death penalty against President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for “treason.”
Greene said in a statement responding to the complaint that she opposes all forms of political violence. “I’ve never encouraged political violence and never will,” she told Reuters.
Free Speech For People filed a similar challenge to the reelection of Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) early this year. A federal judge dismissed that case on March 4, but the organization has urged North Carolina officials to appeal.