A fiery Marjorie Taylor Greene fights court challenge on her candidacy
ATLANTA — Georgia Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene gave fiery testimony on the witness stand Friday to fight a legal challenge filed by a group of her constituents who want her banned from seeking office over the role she may have played in last year’s attack on the U.S. Capitol.
In a series of testy exchanges, Greene responded to questions posed by an attorney for the challengers saying she didn’t remember her remarks about a rally before the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. She disputed video clips and news articles documenting her statements, dismissing them as manipulated by the “biased” media.
And though she acknowledged she promoted the rally that day supporting Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud, she said she never encouraged — or participated in — the riot that sought to block the formal vote to certify Joe Biden’s victory.
“I was scared. I was very scared. I was concerned. I was shocked, shocked, shocked, absolutely shocked,” Greene said of her emotions the day of the Capitol attack.
The court hearing, held before a packed audience of journalists and Greene’s supporters, drew intense attention in part because the Republican is the first member of Congress to testify publicly and under oath about the buildup to the riot.
At issue was a challenge filed by five of Greene’s constituents that contends the first-term lawmaker violated a provision of the 14th Amendment by engaging in an insurrection to block the peaceful transfer of power.
The challengers’ attorney, Andrew Celli, pressed her throughout the proceeding on her online activity and public remarks urging Trump supporters to gather outside the Capitol as lawmakers prepared to confirm Biden’s win.
Often, she responded by saying, “I don’t remember.” The challengers’ attorneys told the judge they would treat her as a hostile witness. Her attorneys, meanwhile, framed the challenge as a stunt to deprive her North Georgia constituents of a choice at the ballot box.
“The right to vote is at stake, right here, right now,” Greene attorney James Bopp said. “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.”