Federal judge blocks Marjorie Taylor Greene's bid for re-election

A federal judge in Georgia has allowed a lawsuit challenging Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene'sGreene's qualifications to run for re-election.

U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg denied the Georgia Republican's request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to block the suit. Free Speech for People, an election and campaign finance reform organization, filed a lawsuit last month on behalf of a group of voters, alleging Greene facilitated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

The suit alleges that Greene is ineligible to run because she has obstructed the transfer of presidential power, in part due to her rhetoric challenging the election results, despite the 14th Amendment's prohibition on anyone who engaged in insurrection or rebellion from running for federal or state office.

Greene tried to derail the effort by launching a lawsuit this month, saying she strongly denies that she aided and engaged in insurrection to obstruct the peaceful transfer of presidential power. Greene said that the litigation wouldn't be resolved in time for the primary election on May 24.

After a thorough analysis of the evidentiary and legal issues presented in the complex matter involving unsettled questions of law, the court found that plaintiff did not carry a heavy burden to establish a strong likelihood of success on the legal merits in this case, according to an appointee of former President Barack Obama. The ruling will allow a state administrative judge to hear Greene's challenge on Friday.

Greene's office and her attorney did not immediately return requests for comment Tuesday.

It is rare for a conspirator, let alone a member of Congress, to publicly admit that their actions are preventing a peaceful transfer of power and the death of the president-elect and Speaker of the House, but that is exactly what Marjorie Taylor Greene did, Free Speech For People's legal director, Ron Fein, said in a statement. The Constitution disqualifies any elected officials from public office who aided the insurrection, and we look forward to asking Representative Greene about her involvement under oath. The group filed a similar challenge on behalf of voters against Senator Madison Cawthorn, R-N. C, which a federal judge in that state blocked last month.