ATLANTA — Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns announced Friday afternoon, that with the blessing of former Speaker David Ralston’s family, State Sen. Colton Moore will be allowed back into the House chamber.
Capitol police arrested Moore on Thursday while he tried to enter the chamber for the 2025 State of the State address.
Officers stopped Moore, which led to a shoving match and Moore hitting the ground before Georgia State Patrol arrested him.
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Video shot at the scene by Channel 2′s Richard Elliot showed how events unfolded before Moore was escorted from the State Capitol in handcuffs. Moore said he was being prevented from performing his duties.
“I have an obligation to be in that room,” Moore said Thursday. “I represent 200,000 people in Northwest Georgia who duly elected me to be here today and you are hindering that.”
Previously, Moore was banned from entering the House chamber after making disparaging remarks about former House Speaker David Ralston, who died in 2022. As reported by the Associated Press, Ralston was being honored when Moore’s comments were made, leading to his eventual ban from the chamber.
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Now, Burns says the Freedom Caucus member will be allowed to participate in joint sessions of the General Assembly.
In his statement, Burns thanked state troopers who “stepped in to take the necessary action required to de-escalate the situation and our doorkeepers and staff for their dedication to defending the integrity of the House Chamber.”
The House Speaker added that “while the Senator’s actions were despicable and hurtful to all who knew, respected and loved former Speaker David Ralston—we know that Speaker Ralston’s first priority was always to serve the people of our great state, and he wouldn’t want that important work to be hindered” and that “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.”
Online Thursday, the state senator thanked his supporters and said he would “be back in the legislature tomorrow.”
With the statement from Burns, that return is now officially confirmed.
After Moore’s arrest Thursday for willfully obstructing members of law enforcement, Lt. Gov. Jon Burns, who leads the Georgia Senate, said that all of Georgia’s elected lawmakers should be able to perform their duties. Moore was granted a $1,000 surety bond.
It is not clear if the charge against Moore will be dropped.
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