A Georgia state senator, Colton Moore, had his ban from entering the state House chamber revoked after an incident on Thursday where he was pushed to the floor, arrested, and hospitalized. Moore, a hardline supporter of President-elect Trump, was trying to attend Gov. Brian Kemp’s State of the State Address but was refused entry by officials.
Moore had been banned from entering the chamber after he blasted the state Senate’s decision to consider a resolution to name a building at the University of North Georgia after the now-deceased former house speaker David Ralston. The ban was enforced by Keith Williams, a lawyer for House Speaker Jon Burns’ office, who pushed Moore to the floor.
Moore was arrested by state troopers and led away, but later posted a video of himself sitting in a hospital bed with a blood pressure monitor strapped to his arm. He claimed to have taken a “bit of a beating” and was waiting for X-rays to check out his injuries.
House Speaker Jon Burns initially said that the incident was “incredibly unfortunate” and that Moore had “created a dangerous situation when he chose to use force against our law enforcement officers, dedicated doorkeepers and House staff.” However, Burns later lifted the ban after state Senate and Republican Party leaders lined up to support Moore.
Moore’s ban had stemmed from a speech he gave last year blasting former speaker Ralston, accusing him of using his office to delay court cases for criminal defendants he had represented as an attorney. Moore has a history of clashing with his Republican colleagues, including being suspended by the Georgia’s Republican Senate Caucus in 2023 for attacking them for opposing his plan to impeach Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
