State lawmaker has House chamber ban revoked after viral scuffle left him hospitalized
A Georgia state senator has had his ban from entering the state House chamber revoked following an ugly incident on Thursday which saw him flung to the floor, arrested and subsequently hospitalized.
State Sen. Colton Moore, a hardline supporter of President-elect Trump who previously tried to have Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis impeached for indicting the former president, was involved in a heated exchange at the entrance to the House chamber where officials refused him entry to attend Gov. Brian Kemp's State of the State Address.
Moore, of Trenton in Dade County, ended up being pushed to the floor by Keith Williams, a lawyer for House Speaker Jon Burns' office, who was trying to enforce a ban placed on Moore by the speaker. Moore was banned from entering the chamber after he blasted the state Senate's decision last year to consider a resolution to name a building at the University of North Georgia after the now-deceased former house speaker David Ralston.
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Moore on Thursday made several attempts to brush past House staffers but was pushed back on several occasions. Then, at one point, William sent Moore flying, with the senator falling awkwardly to the floor. After another attempt to enter, Moore was arrested by state troopers and led away.
Later in the evening, Moore posted a video of himself sitting on a hospital bed with a blood pressure monitor strapped to one of his arms. His other arm was elevated on the bed’s guard rail.
"I did take a bit of a beating; my hand, it’s a bit swollen and purple; we’re waiting to get some X-rays to check it out," Moore said.
"Today they took my freedom and liberty away as I was fighting for your freedom and liberty. But I tell you what, we still have a constitutional duty to do work, and I’ll still be in that legislature tomorrow morning. Thank you all for the support."
Burns initially said that the incident was "incredibly unfortunate and said that Moore had "created a dangerous situation when he chose to use force against our law enforcement officers, dedicated doorkeepers and House staff." Burns said that the integrity and decorum of this House was "non-negotiable—period."
On Friday, Burns, a Republican from Newington, lifted his ban after state Senate and Republican Party leaders lined up to support Moore.
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He said that Moore’s desire to "cause a disturbance and gain notoriety in the press broke longstanding rules and precedents of decorum that each member of the General Assembly has a responsibility to uphold." But he said he’d admit Moore for joint sessions without an apology because Ralston wouldn’t have wanted the legislature’s work to be hindered.
"For this reason, the Ralston family has expressed to their family here in the House that they desire for our chamber to resume business as normal — with all members of the General Assembly present — for any future joint sessions with or without the apology they and the House deserve," Burns said.
Moore’s ban had stemmed from a speech he gave last year blasting former speaker Ralston, who was also a Republican.
Moore accused Ralston of using his office to delay court cases for criminal defendants he had represented as an attorney. Ralston claimed in 2019 that his actions were entirely legal.
"This body is about to memorialize, in my opinion, one of the most corrupt Georgia leaders that we are ever going to see in my lifetime," Moore exclaimed at the time.
It’s not the first time Colton, a self-described "RINO wrangler," has clashed with his Republican colleagues.
In 2023, Georgia’s Republican Senate Caucus suspended Moore for attacking them for opposing his plan to impeach Willis for indicting Trump in an election interference case.
Moore was the most prominent backer of a special session to impeach and remove Willis or defund her office, winning Trump’s endorsement. Kemp denounced the call as "some grifter scam" to raise campaign contributions for Moore.
The Willis case eventually unraveled, in part because she was in a romantic relationship with a prosecutor she had hired.
Moore was booked into Fulton County jail on a misdemeanor charge of willful obstruction of law enforcement officers.
After Moore took a mug shot imitating one Donald Trump famously took at the same jail, a supporter posted Moore’s $1,000 bail.
Lt. Edward Starling, a troopers spokesperson, said he had no update on whether charges would be dropped.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.