An unfortunate incident took place Thursday at the State Capitol just before Gov. Brian Kemp gave his annual State of the State address. Georgia State Patrol officers arrested a Georgia state senator who was trying to enter the state House of Representatives chamber to hear the governor’s speech. The door keeper asked state Sen. Colton Moore, R-Trenton, to leave and when he didn’t he got into a tussle with one of the House speaker’s staffers.
But first some background.
Moore was banned from the House chamber last March by Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, after Moore denounced late House Speaker David Ralston on a day when Ralston was being honored and his relatives were present. From the well that day, Moore called Ralston “one of the most corrupt Georgia leaders we’ll ever see.” Burns called Moore’s remarks “vile” when he announced his ban from the chamber, saying it would remain until Moore apologized.
By the way, the state’s Republican Senate Caucus had previously suspended Moore for breaking caucus rules by attacking Republicans for refusing to support his campaign to impeach Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Sources say Burns and Moore met Wednesday, the day before the State of the State. And reports of that meeting indicate that Burns told Moore the order would stand until he offered a public apology. Burns had also sent a letter to Moore saying that the ban would remain in place without the mea culpa.
Witnesses said Moore disobeyed the letter and attempted to enter the House chamber A video shows that a staff member for the speaker’s office shoved Moore and the senator fell to the ground after several of Moore’s attempts to enter the chamber. State troopers who were standing idly by eventually arrested and handcuffed Moore and took him to the Fulton County jail. Online jail records show Moore was booked on misdemeanor charges of willful obstruction of law enforcement officers.
Prior to the State of the State address, Burns addressed members of the House, saying, “As Speaker, I am obligated to maintain the order and decorum of our Chambers. Last year, I issued an order that I believe upholds that obligation and that order still stands. But today we will all focus on the work that lies ahead of us.”
Following the incident, the speaker issued the following statement: “The situation outside of the House Chamber this morning was incredibly unfortunate. The Senator refused to cooperate with doorkeepers and law enforcement and created a dangerous situation when he chose to use force against our law enforcement officers, dedicated doorkeepers and House staff. I want to thank every House staff member and our entire House family for holding the line to honor Speaker Ralston’s legacy of dedicated service to our state. As you saw today, the integrity and decorum of this House are non-negotiable-period.”
Courtney Lund, who works in the Public Information Office at the Georgia Department of Public Safety, issued a statement saying, “Troopers stationed at the Capitol were forced to step in when Senator Moore created a disruption outside the House Chamber. Despite multiple verbal warnings and several attempts to de-escalate the situation, Senator Moore persisted in his attempts to disrupt official proceedings inside the House Chamber. The disturbance escalated further when Senator Moore pushed into troopers multiple times.”
Some observers said they would not be surprised if Moore doesn’t sue for assault by the speaker’s aide Keith Williams.
