At hearing challenging her House candidacy, Marjorie Taylor Greene testifies to remembering nothing

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Friday, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene testified in federal court challenging her eligibility for reelection in the 14th district based on comments she made before and after the insurrection on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

The challenge was filed with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger by five voters represented by Free Speech for People, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 2010 offering legal assistance with a focus on election and constitutional issues.

The ruling reads that Greene “voluntarily aided and engaged in an insurrection to obstruct the peaceful transfer of presidential power, disqualifying her from serving as a Member of Congress under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.”

During his opening comments, Ron Fein, the attorney for the group of challengers, Free Speech for the People, called the hearing “solemn,” adding that the “most powerful witness against Marjorie Taylor Greene’s candidacy, in establishing she crossed a line, is Greene herself.”

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Although James Bopp Jr., Greene’s attorney, called the attack on Jan. 6 “despicable,” he also noted that no one involved had explicitly been charged with insurrection. He framed the hearing as a political move to silence Georgia voters.

“Our democracy is at stake. It should not be; it should be the voters, not government employees, public officials, judges, and lawyers who decide our elections,” Bopp said. “Voters have a right to vote for the candidate of their choice unless there was very compelling legal—not rhetorical—justification for that.”

Administrative Judge Charles Beaudrot oversaw Greene’s hearing.

Greene answered under oath Friday that she doesn’t “support violence of any kind” and asserted that her “words never mean anything for violence.”

Greene, 47, has denied being involved in the Jan. 6 insurrection on the Capitol. No evidence from Congress, the Jan. 6 congressional committee, or law enforcement has linked her to the attack.

On Jan. 5, 2021, Greene appeared on Newsmax for a Facebook Watch interview. During that show, the day before Congress met in a joint session to formally count the electoral college votes, Greene said, “This is our 1776 moment,” a reference to the American Revolution that has become synonymous with “freedom” for far-right extremists.

Greene claimed she had never heard anyone use “1776” in terms of violence.

At Friday’s hearing, there was a lot of eye-rolling by Greene and a lot of “I don’t recall,” and “I don’t remember,” but Greene did admit to believing that President Biden lost the election to former President Trump.

“We saw a tremendous amount of voter fraud,” Greene said.

When Andrew Celli, one of the voters’ attorneys, asked Greene whether it was her “personal opinion” and “wish that Congress not certify Joe Biden,” Greene answered, “No, that’s not accurate.”

When Celli questioned Greene about whether she’d ever called Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi a “traitor,” Greene answered, “I don’t recall saying all of this.” Greene added that she didn’t know the Jan. 6 mob was targeting Pelosi.

“I’ve seen that on the news, but I don’t know for sure. I haven’t investigated all that,” Greene said.

Greene initially declined to respond to several of Celli’s questions regarding an article from CNN, accusing the outlet of taking her words out of context.

“Here’s the article we wrote last year. It’s just a quotes from ***her own*** videos we saved before she deleted them,” CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski tweeted.

When asked about comments she’s made comparing the American Revolution in 1776 with Jan. 6, Greene said she simply meant having “the courage to reject” the results. She denied she’d meant her comments as a code for violence on Jan. 6.

Greene also insisted that she’d “heard of the Proud Boys” but “didn’t know much about them or what they do.”

When shown a video of herself saying, “We can’t allow this, just let it go. To just transfer power peacefully, like Joe Biden wants, and allow him to become our president because he did not win this election,” Greene alleged that the videos were “chopped,” “cut,” and “spliced.”

At one point, Celli pointed out that one of Greene’s comments was eerily similar to a line from the film Independence Day—when actor Bill Pullman says, “We will not go quietly into the night!”—as code for 1776 and violent insurrection.

In describing the events of Jan. 6., Greene was pointed in saying that her initial thought after learning there was violence that day was that it must have been from “BLM [Black Lives Matter] or antifa.”

She’d said something similar early on in her testimony when asked about protests in Washington, D.C., that “the only violence” she “ever saw was Antifa and BLM riots.” And later referred to the insurrectionists as “patriots.”

“I only believe in peaceful demonstration,” Greene said. “I do not support violence.”

Following Friday’s hearing, the Georgia judge will outline the facts of the case and make a recommendation to Raffensperger, who will make the final ruling on whether Greene will appear on the ballot this November.