A state Superior Court judge in Arizona has issued a ruling in the latest attempt involving a left-wing group from Texas to bar Republican lawmakers from seeking reelection.
U.S. Reps. Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs were accused of taking part in an “insurrection” in connection to the Jan. 6, 2020, Capitol riot.
But Judge Christopher Coury noted in his ruling late last week that because they and state Republican Rep. Mark Finchem are elected officials, removing them from the ballot over the 14th Amendment’s Disqualification Clause requires congressional action and cannot be accomplished via a lawsuit brought by private citizens in a state court, according to The Epoch Times.
“The express language of the United States Constitution controls this issue,” Coury said.
Last month, a federal judge blocked a similar attempt to disqualify Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn from seeking reelection in North Carolina.
The 11 plaintiffs in the Arizona case are state residents represented by attorneys with the Texas-based Free Speech for People advocacy group, which was involved in the Cawthorn case and also has filed suit along with voters in Georgia to bar Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene from office.
Meet the plaintiffs (aka dem party operatives) who are suing to get kicked off the ballot this morning. Let's start with plaintiff, Ruth Demeter… Ruth Demeter and her husband, David (Alan) Guyatt are 2 of the 5 plaintiffs in this case against . 1/5
— Shannon T TBA
She testified on Friday in her case, which has yet to be decided.
The Hill reported:
The hearing comes as part of a legal challenge by a group of Georgia voters, who argue that a provision of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment – known as the “disqualification clause – effectively prohibits Greene from holding federal office because of her alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
That clause, which was passed in the wake of the Civil War, bans any person from holding federal office who has previously taken an oath to protect and defend the Constitution and who has “engaged in insurrection” against the United States.
KNOW MORE:
Dems Launch Bid To Disqualify Republicans To Keep Control of Congress