John Bazemore/Pool/AP
Controversial Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia on Friday defended her comments ahead of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol while testifying under oath as part of a challenge to her reelection by voters and a supporting legal group, who are seeking to knock her off the ballot for her role prior to the riot.
Greene’s appearance in an Atlanta court Friday made her the first GOP member of Congress to testify publicly about Jan. 6, even as a Democratic-led committee back in Washington, D.C., has spent months investigating the attack.
Greene was in front of an administrative law judge because a handful of voters in her district, represented by a nonprofit called Free Speech For People, say Greene should be disqualified because they allege she encouraged and supported the rioters who stormed the Capitol.
While on the witness stand, the congresswoman reiterated baseless claims about election fraud, and repeatedly said that her charged rhetoric ahead of Jan. 6 referred to challenging the electoral count, not a call for violence.
“I don’t support violence of any kind,” Greene said in response to a question. “My words never ever mean anything for violence.”
The courtroom was crowded with Greene’s supporters, who cheered when she entered.
Citing the 14th Amendment
Lawyers with Free Speech For People are leaning on a provision in the U.S. Constitution that forbids any member of Congress involved in an insurrection from serving in office. It’s a section of the 14th Amendment, passed in the years after the Civil War to prevent former Confederates from returning to their seats in Congress.
The legal theory is mostly untested in modern history.
Greene has long deployed violent rhetoric against her political opponents and has routinely spread false claims about the 2020 election, including in the leadup to Jan. 6, 2021.
“This was not a case where the leaders were on horseback leading the charge,” Ron Fein, legal director for Free Speech for People, told the judge. “Rather the leaders of this insurrection were among us, on Facebook, on Twitter, on corners of social media that would make your stomach turn. The evidence will show that Marjorie Taylor Greene was one of them.”
Greene says the challenge to her candidacy is a lie and a scam designed to take away her constituents’ rights to vote for the candidate of their choice.
Greene answered many questions Friday about her statements, social media posts and conversations in the days before Jan. 6 with “I don’t know” or “I don’t recall.”
Asked whether her office gave tours to any members of the public in the days before the riot, or whether her campaign or congressional staff provided information or funds to people who participated in or organized the…
Read More: Marjorie Taylor Greene testifies in challenge over Jan. 6 ties : NPR