Colton Moore Arrested For Attempting To Enter Georgia House Floor
By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor
Photo courtesy of Team Moore – Senator Colton Moore is led away in handcuffs by Georgia State Patrol on Jan. 16 after attempting to attend the State of the State address.
On Jan. 16, the fourth day of the Georgia General Assembly session, Senator Colton Moore (53rd district) was arrested and charged with one misdemeanor count of Willful Obstruction of Law Enforcement Officers as he attempted to attend the State of the State address.
The day’s events are rooted in March 2024 events when House Speaker Jon Burns banned Moore from the Georgia House after Moore criticized the late House Speaker David Ralston. (See the March 20, 2024, Sentinel for more details.)
The legality and precedent for the ban is unclear, and Moore has been vocal about it being unconstitutional.
When Moore attempted to enter the house floor on Jan. 16, doorkeepers and Georgia State Patrol officers prevented him from entering, but Moore persisted. At one point, a physical altercation ensued which seemed to be instigated by the doorkeeper. Moore was pushed and seemed to trip before falling to the floor.
GSP then arrested Moore. Later that day, Moore was released from the Fulton County Jail.
His team published a press release, which included the statement, “Colton defied an unconstitutional order barring him from attending the session, a clear violation of his constitutional obligations as your Senator.”
The Constitution of the State of Georgia, Section Four, Paragraph Nine reads, “The members of both houses shall be free from arrest during sessions of the General Assembly, or committee meetings thereof, and in going thereto or returning therefrom, except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace. No member shall be liable to answer in any other place for anything spoken in either house or in any committee meeting of either house.”
Presumably, GSP officers deemed Moore’s actions to be a breach of the peace.
On the following day, Jan. 17, Burns redacted his ban on Moore but maintained that Ralston was a good man, and Moore had spoken out of line. However, Ralston’s reported corruption has been covered by numerous news sources.
Burns released a statement that read, “While the Senator’s actions were despicable and hurtful to all who knew, respected and loved former Speaker David Ralston—we know that Speaker Ralston’s first priority was always to serve the people of our great state, and he wouldn’t want that important work to be hindered. For this reason, the Ralston family has expressed to their family here in the House that they desire for our Chamber to resume business as normal—with all members of the General Assembly present—for any future joint sessions with or without the apology they and the House deserve.”
Response from Dade Countians has been mixed, with some expressing outrage at the ban and the arrest and others bemoaning Moore’s actions and attitude.
For example, Jack Zibluk (Democratic contender to Mike Cameron in the 2024 election and possible challenger to Moore) said, “The distraction and toxicity makes him ineffective at best, and downright unfit overall. The showmanship and grandstanding does nothing for the people of the 53rd senate district he represents. The whole slew of incidents makes it nearly impossible for him to accomplish anything for Northwest Georgia.”
