ATLANTA — Georgia Capitol Police arrested State Sen. Colton Moore, who represents parts of North Georgia, on Thursday morning while trying to attend the annual State of the State address.
A Channel 2 Action News video shows the moments the senator tried to enter the chamber, only to be rebuffed, shoved and eventually arrested.
The state senator faces a charge of willfully obstructing law enforcement after the Georgia Department of Public Safety said he “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.”
He was granted a $1,000 surety bond, according to records from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office.
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On Wednesday, Moore published a letter to Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns saying that a letter from Burns telling him not to enter the chamber was “unconstitutional, illegal and the most disgraceful piece of correspondence issued by a legislator” in Georgia’s history.
Moore was banned from entering the House chamber after making disparaging remarks about former House Speaker David Ralston, who died in 2022.
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As reported by the Associated Press, Ralston was being honored when Moore’s comments were made, leading to his eventual ban from the chamber.
Previously, Channel 2 Action News covered when Moore’s legislative attempts to investigate Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and have her impeached for investigating and indicting President-elect Donald Trump failed and caused a divide within the state’s Republican caucus.
His calls for a special session to do so were declared unconstitutional by House Speaker Jon Burns and were rejected by Gov. Brian Kemp as well.
Kemp at the time said Moore’s using the controversy to fundraise amounted to “some grifter’s scam.”
🚨TYRANT ALERT🚨
— Sen. Colton Moore (@realColtonMoore) January 15, 2025
Speaker @JonBurnsGA is attempting to ARREST and BLOCK me from representing the 53rd District at tomorrow’s State of the State joint session.
I will NEVER back down.
I will ALWAYS speak the truth and represent the people of Northwest Georgia as their trusted… pic.twitter.com/zl9R4H1EmY
On Thursday morning, Moore tried to get inside, telling those blocking him from entering that he was interfering with his ability to serve his constituents.
“I have an obligation to be in that room,” Moore said. “I represent 200,000 people in Northwest Georgia who duly elected me to be here today and you are hindering that.”
In the hours that followed Moore’s arrest, various lawmakers weighed in.
Republican Majority Leader Chuck Efstration said it was down to House rules.
“The Speaker of the House has full responsibility of maintaining order and decorum in the House Chamber,” Efstration said. “He’d done that today.”
While Republican leaders stood behind Burns and members of law enforcement, not everyone agreed that Moore should have been barred from the day’s proceedings.
“Whatever personal differences Senator Moore has with others, he is a member of the body over which I preside. All elected 56 senators and 180 representatives deserve the opportunity to fulfill their responsibility to attend joint sessions of the General Assembly,” Lt. Gov. Burt Jones’ office said in a statement. “There is real work to be done this session and the focus should be on delivering for the people of Georgia instead of personal grievances and egos.”
On social media, Moore posted a quote from Gov. Kemp’s speech as a response to his arrest.
“If you’ve been done wrong, you deserve justice,” Moore posted, citing Kemp’s State of the State speech from Thursday.
Channel 2 Action News reached out to House Speaker Jon Burns’ office, which provided 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.”
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