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Topics: US News, Marjorie Taylor Greene
Cameron Frew
A federal judge has approved a legal effort to ban Marjorie Taylor Greene from running for re-election.
Greene – a Republican, QAnon-supporting, walking controversy – has faced criticism throughout her short political career, whether it's mistaking the Gestapo for gazpacho, transphobia or reporting Jimmy Kimmel to the police.
Notably, she recently called on people to stop being 'over-dramatic' about the Capitol riots on 6 January last year. For reference, nine people died in connection with the chaos that day, and it was an attempt to stop democracy.
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A group of Georgia voters put forward a challenge requesting that Greene should be disqualified from standing for re-election under the 14th amendment to the US constitution, because she supported the insurrectionists involved in the riots.
The amendment, passed after the American Civil War, states: "No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof."
While denying any involvement in planning the riots or supporting violence, Greene earlier said: "6 January was just a riot at the Capitol and if you think about what our Declaration of Independence says, it says to overthrow tyrants."
Amy Totenberg, of the northern district of Georgia, has sent the challenge to a state hearing.
In her ruling, she said (as per The New York Times): "This case involves a whirlpool of colliding constitutional interests of public import.
"Upon a thorough analysis of each of the claims asserted in this case, the court concludes that [Greene] has not carried her burden of persuasion."
Ron Fein, the legal director of Free Speech for People, a group backing the challengers, told CNN: "The Constitution disqualifies from public office any elected officials who aided the insurrection, and we look forward to asking Representative Greene about her involvement under oath."
Predictably, Greene contested the challenge during an interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News.
She said: "The progressives... they’ve hired up some attorneys from New York who hate the people in my district and don’t believe that they should have the right to elect who they want to send to Washington, which is me."
This was backed by Carlson, who replied: "American citizens have an absolute right to vote for anyone they want to because it's their government, it's self-government, and if you take that away it's tyranny, obviously."
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