Senator Colton Moore in handcuffs
Senator Colton Moore, of Dade County, was arrested on Thursday after he defied the order of Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns that he would not be allowed in for a joint legislative session in Atlanta.
Senator Moore's staff said, "This is a chilling reminder of how far the deep state and career politicians will go to silence America First conservatives.
"This isn’t just an attack on Colton Moore - it’s an attack on you, the people who elected him to fight against the corrupt Georgia establishment."
The Georgia State Patrol said, "This afternoon, the Georgia State Patrol arrested Senator Colton Moore at the State Capitol following a public disturbance prior to the State of the State address.
"Troopers stationed at the Capitol were forced to step in when Senator Moore created a disruption outside the House Chamber. Despite multiple verbal warnings and several attempts to de-escalate the situation, Senator Moore persisted in his attempts to disrupt official proceedings inside the House Chamber. The disturbance escalated further when Senator Moore pushed into Troopers multiple times.
"The Georgia State Patrol, in an effort to maintain peace and ensure the safety of everyone involved, arrested Senator Moore without further incident. He was transported to the Fulton County Jail, where he was being processed for misdemeanor obstruction."
Senator Moore had said Wednesday, "Speaker Jon Burns is attempting to ARREST and BLOCK me from representing the 53rd District at tomorrow’s State of the State joint session.
"This corrupt move is an attempt to silence your voice and mine."
The Burns letter to Senator Moore said:
On Thursday, January 16th, 2025, members of the General Assembly will gather in the House Chamber for Governor Brian Kemp’s seventh State of the State Address.
As you will recall, on March 14th, 2024, following your vile, disparaging, and false comments in reference to the character of former Speaker David Ralston, because House Rules require me to uphold the decorum of the House and decency of speech, I subsequently ordered the doorkeeper of the House, Corey Mulkey, to prevent your entrance onto any property of the Georgia House of Representatives, especially the House Chamber.
This letter serves as a reminder that my order is still in effect and you are not allowed to enter the House Chamber. This includes joining your colleagues from the Senate for the State of the State Address unless you deliver a sincere apology to the family, extended family, and loved ones of former Speaker David Ralston from the floor of the Senate before January 16th, 2025.
Senator Moore told the House Speaker his letter was "unconstitutional, illegal and the most disgraceful piece of correspondence issued by a legislator in the history of the State of Georgia."
He said, "Your acts constitute both an impermissible censorship of my voice as an elected State Senator and an unlawful obstruction of my sworn duties to the people of Georgia."
Senator Moore said he "wanted to inform you of my presence" at the session and said his order was "unenforceable and invalid."
UTC professor Jack Zibluk, who said he is a possible challenger to Senator Moore, said his arrest after an altercation in the state House of Representatives makes him “unfit for office.”
The former Democratic nominee for the First District in the Georgia State House, said, “It’s easy to take potshots after such an embarrassing situation, but the bottom line is that the distraction and toxicity makes him ineffective at best, and downright unfit overall."
Mr. Zibluk, a Lookout Mountain, Ga., resident and Massengil professor of communication at UTC, "emphasized that the incident, one of several in the past year, makes colleagues even in his own party snub him. He was banned from the house of representatives that’s controlled by his own party.
“The showmanship and grandstanding does nothing for the people of the 53rd senate district he represents. The whole slew of incidents maker it nearly impossible for him to accomplish anything for Northwest Georgia.”
Mr. Zibluk, 65, said he has already discussed a possible challenge to Senator Moore with supporters in the district, and he said the response has been “very positive”
“People know from my last run, that I am all about working on regional economic development in the Chattanooga metro area as well as transportation and mental health issues. Whenn you get away from partisan bomb-throwing, Republicans, independents and Democrats just want to see good, responsible government. And Colton Moore has proven again and again he can only deliver a partisan circus.”