The controversial state law used by Georgia Capitol police to arrest then-state Sen. Nikema Williams in 2018 and state Rep. Park Cannon in 2021 as they were protesting at the Statehouse is facing a fresh legal challenge.
Attorneys for Williams filed a 32-page brief this week laying out new arguments against the state law that makes it illegal “for any person recklessly or knowingly to commit any act which may reasonably be expected to prevent or disrupt” a legislative session or meeting.
Credit: Bob Andres/AJC
Credit: Bob Andres/AJC
They argue that the law is so broad that it “violates the Georgia Constitution’s protections for free speech” by criminalizing those who are holding protests at the Capitol without intending to or actually disrupt any meetings. They also contend that Georgia Supreme Court precedent requires both intent and actual disruption.
If the state’s top court overturns the law, they write, “the skies will likewise not fall upon our Capitol.”
The challenge stems from the controversial arrest of Williams and 14 other protesters in November 2018 when they gathered in the Capitol rotunda to pressure state officials to ensure all ballots were tallied in the governor’s race. Williams is now a U.S. House member and chairwoman of the state Democratic Party.
Credit: John Spink/AJC
Credit: John Spink/AJC
In 2021, the same statute was invoked to arrest Cannon, an Atlanta Democrat, as she knocked on Gov. Brian Kemp’s door and interrupted his livestreamed announcement that he had signed a contentious elections bill into law.
In the brief, the Democrats argue that Cannon’s knocking wasn’t aggressive “banging” but amounted to “the functional equivalent of ‘Hello, may I enter.’”
Charges were dismissed against Cannon, Williams and the other protesters, but years later their legal challenge is still pending. State attorneys have argued that the law strikes a balance between preserving free speech rights and protecting the Legislature from interference.
“The people’s representatives have an obligation and a right to carry on their business unimpeded and with some sense of decorum,” said Ross Bergethon, a state attorney, in a 2022 argument.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
FIRST LADY’S VOTE. Gov. Brian Kemp has said he’ll vote for former President Donald Trump in November. His wife isn’t so sure.
First lady Marty Kemp told WSB’s Karyn Greer that Trump still hasn’t earned her vote. But she has an idea of who would make a good president.
“We’ve got a long way going. I would probably write Brian Kemp’s name in. He’d make a darn good president, in my opinion,” she said, adding: “We’ve got a lot that will happen. Six to eight months is a lifetime in politics.”
She wouldn’t be the first first lady to take a pass on Trump. First lady Laura Bush famously told a reporter, “Don’t ask,” when she was quizzed on her vote ahead of the 2016 elections. It was later disclosed she did not vote for either Trump or Hillary Clinton in that election. She has since kept her presidential picks private.
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Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
IT’S A SQUEAKER. Speaking of the former president, he is leading or tied with President Joe Biden in six key battleground states, including Georgia, according to the Wall Street Journal’s latest poll.
Trump has the largest polling lead in North Carolina, where he’s six points up, but is statistically tied here in Georgia and in Wisconsin. Adding in Robert Kennedy, Jr. to the field puts Trump ahead in Georgia by about three percentage points in the same poll, which still leaves the Georgia contest within the poll’s four-point margin of error.
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FIGHTING WORDS. Never let it be said that ex-Democratic lawmaker-turned Trump cheerleader Vernon Jones isn’t doing his best to help his former party’s leaders in his absence.
Our campaign finance guy James Salzer reports that Senate Democratic Caucus Chairwoman Elena Parent of Atlanta is promoting Jones’ recent tweets accusing her of using “Jim Crow tactics” against her primary opponent, former Democratic state Sen. Nadine Thomas of Ellenwood, to raise money for her campaign.
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
“MAGA influencer Vernon Jones has been spreading lies about me on social media as a public endorser of my primary opponent,” Parent said in a fundraising email that notes Jones’ “unhinged accusations.”
“You can check out his Twitter account for yourself to see the disgusting campaign that my opponent and her allies are choosing to run.”
The email links to some rather unflattering stories about Jones and asks for donations to fight “MAGA minions determined to defeat me.”
Credit: Curtis Compton/AJC
Credit: Curtis Compton/AJC
Parent vs.Thomas should be one of the more closely watched Democratic primary races in May. The Republican majority redrew Parent’s territory last year, changing it from a district that is 29% Black to one with a Black majority by including a stretch of Clayton County.
Parent, who is white, has served in the Senate since 2015. Thomas, who is Black, represented part of the area in the Georgia Senate from 1993 to 2005, most of it when Democrats ran the General Assembly.
Her social media bio says: “She was the 1st AA to win a state senate seat.” That would be news to the family of the late Leroy Johnson, who was elected to the Senate in 1962, or future Congressman David Scott, who was elected to the Senate in 1982, or the family of the late Horace Tate, elected in 1974.
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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
SPEAKER TALK. At this rate, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, isn’t going to be on the Christmas card list for House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Greene on Wednesday continued her onslaught of public attacks against the GOP Speaker, using the megaphone of Tucker Carlson’s show to blast Johnson for working with Democrats.
Greene, who before Easter filed a motion to boot Johnson out as Speaker, will finally get a chance to talk with the top House Republican later this week. “I’m planning to speak with him on Friday,” Greene told Carlson. “And I’m very much looking forward to that.”
In the meantime, Greene continues to hit Johnson hard. “Mike Johnson has made a complete departure of who he is and what he stands for, and to the point where people are literally asking, is he blackmailed?” Greene said. “What is wrong with him? Because he is completely disconnected from what we want.”
Carlson was more than happy to push the conspiracy theory in his interview, touting it with this tease: “Is Speaker of the House Mike Johnson being blackmailed to do the bidding of the left? It certainly seems that way. His colleague, Marjorie Taylor Greene, explains.”
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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
HOME STATE HAUL. While Republicans on Capitol Hill often strongly criticize budget ‘earmarks’ in Congress that send money back to local projects, it doesn’t mean that all Georgia GOP lawmakers oppose them.
For example, U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island, on Wednesday touted his efforts to secure just over $2 million to Georgia Southern University for a ‘Safe Water’ initiative. That was part of a package of government funding bills approved in March.
“Georgia is growing and that means we need to invest now to ensure access for safe and clean drinking water in the future,” Carter said. “I am proud to have led the effort to secure this funding.”
Carter’s name was on 14 different earmarks in the government funding bills approved by the Congress last month. Those plans covered everything from $5.4 million in sewer system improvements for the City of Nahunta, to $1.24 million for work to combat sea level rise in Camden County. The largest earmark supported by Carter sends $11.3 million to the Army Corps of Engineers for work in Brunswick Harbor.
Our pal Jamie Dupree has put together all 743 pages of earmarks approved last month by Congress in one file. Get yourself a cup of coffee and enjoy.
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Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
IVF CLINIC CLOSURE. Even after the Alabama Legislature passed a bill offering legal immunity to doctors and clinics providing in-vitro fertilization services, the hospital at the center of the state’s controversy said Wednesday it will end IVF treatments there permanently at the end of the year.
AL.com reports that the Mobile hospital cited “litigation concerns” in its announcement that it will relocate outside of Alabama.
The Georgia House adopted a resolution on Day 40 of the legislative session last week that there “should be no question that in-vitro fertilization will remain available in the State of Georgia.” But conservative Christians’ belief that life begins at conception means that the state law that gives personhood status to embryos in a uterus falls short of that definition.
Cole Muzio, the executive director of Frontline Policy Action, said his group does not have plans to challenge IVF in Georgia any time soon, but the future of IVF is “a conversation worth having.”
“There are unethical practices that often accompany IVF when you’re discarding embryos and how you’re treating the concept of life,” he said. “At the same time, IVF is a valuable resource for parents that want to have children and can’t otherwise. And so I think that there needs to be reforms to IVF as we go, but that’s not really on the legislative or policy table right now.”
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Credit: Courtesy photos
Credit: Courtesy photos
LISTEN UP. Today on the “Politically Georgia” radio show, Melita Easters, the executive director of Georgia WIN List, joins to talk about the Democratic women her group has recruited to run in upcoming elections in Georgia. Later, Jordan Fuchs of the Secretary of State’s office will give the backstory of Brad Raffensperger’s letter to comedian Larry David. And she’ll explain the changes Georgia voters can expect when they go to the polls this year.
Listen live at 10 a.m. on 90.1 FM, at AJC.com and at WABE.org.
If you missed Wednesday’s show, Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson and Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul talked about issues affecting their fair cities. And the AJC’s Maureen Downey discussed the education measures that passed and failed at the General Assembly.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden will host a White House reception celebrating Greek Independence Day.
- The House and Senate are both out of session for a two-week Easter recess.
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Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
HARPER HIGHER. Georgia Agriculture Commission Tyler Harper picked up another leadership position earlier this week when Ag America announced he has been elected vice chair of the Republican group.
GOP officials currently hold all 12 statewide elected agriculture positions in the country. As one of the four caucuses of the Republican State Leadership Committee, Ag America’s goal is to keep it that way.
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SAD NEWS. Our condolences go out to the many family and friends of the late Ward Edwards, who passed away last week at the age of 94.
Edwards was a longtime member of the General Assembly from Butler, having been elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1966 and serving for 26 years. While in the House, he was also elected Majority Whip and Majority Caucus Secretary. Later he served on the board of the Georgia Department of Transportation.
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DOG OF THE DAY. Got a pup for Politically Georgia? Send us your dogs of any political persuasion, and cats on a cat-by-cat basis, to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us at @MurphyAJC. Horizontal photos are especially appreciated.
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AS ALWAYS, Politically Georgia readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.vanbrimmer@ajc.com.
