A northwest Georgia senator said he has subpoenaed the House speaker and other top Republicans in the chamber as he seeks criminal charges against a staffer who pushed him to the ground in a January scuffle at the state Capitol.
The legal move from state Sen. Colton Moore continues a yearslong conflict with members of his own party in the House. Moore was banished from the House last year after disparaging deceased former House Speaker David Ralston, and the feud culminated in a physical altercation in January as he sought to enter the chamber.
Moore is seeking criminal charges against Keith Williams, general counsel for current House Speaker Jon Burns, after Williams pushed Moore to the ground to stop him from entering the House chamber to hear Gov. Brian Kemp deliver his State of the State address.
In his warrant application filed Jan. 27 — 10 days after the incident, Moore requested that charges be brought against Williams. Moore wrote that “Keith Williams grabbed and tackled me and threw me to the floor injuring my hand causing purple swelling and causing bleeding. Video is available upon request.”
In addition to Burns, Moore has subpoenaed House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration and Burns’ chief of staff Terry England for an initial hearing at Fulton County Magistrate Court on Friday. England is in a rehabilitation facility recovering from a back injury he incurred in February during a heavy machinery incident and subsequent surgery. England was served while receiving care in the intensive care unit, Moore said.
Moore was arrested in January after the scuffle and charged with “willful obstruction of law enforcement officers,” a misdemeanor.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
The Speaker’s Office confirmed Burns was served a subpoena but could not comment on legal matters. Efstration referred all questions to his attorney.
Moore’s comments about Ralston came as the Senate considered a resolution last year urging the University of North Georgia to name a new academic facility on its Blue Ridge campus after Ralston, a Blue Ridge native. Ralston died in 2022.
Burns banished Moore from the House chamber.
In January, Moore announced he was going to ignore the ban to attend a joint session.
Williams and House doorkeeper Cory Mulkey physically blocked Moore from entering before Williams pushed Moore, who fell to the ground.
While most House members fumed at Moore’s altercation, Senate Republicans have both supported and joked about the matter. The day after the incident, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones said the scuffle was “an embarrassment for the Legislature as a whole.”
“Moore showed a lot of restraint … in his efforts to really do what he felt like was his obligation as an elected official,” said Jones, who presides over the Senate.
Burns reversed his order the day after Moore’s arrest.
Earlier Thursday, Moore presented his first bill in five legislative sessions. Senate Bill 163 would allow anyone to sue a municipality for up to $50,000 if they are penalized for leaving weapons in an unlocked vehicle.
Though typically reserved for first-term lawmakers, senators roasted Moore as he presented his bill since it was the first time a piece of his legislation made it to the floor for a vote.
“For this bill to become law, it has to physically go from this chamber into the House chamber. Is that correct?” said state Sen. Brian Strickland, a Republican from McDonough.
“That’s correct. I’ve made the same constitutional argument that I’ve got a right to do that,” Moore said. “They burned the constitution down over there a couple weeks ago and hopefully they’ve learned their lesson and we don’t have those problems anymore.”
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