Georgia State Sen. Colton Moore is barred from entering the House chambers on Thursday, January 16, 2025. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)
Erik S. Lesser / Erik S. Lesser
This story was updated on Jan. 17, 2025, at 3:54 p.m.
Georgia State Sen. Colton Moore, who was arrested Thursday after trying to defy a ban against his entrance into the House chambers, is now allowed to attend joint sessions there.
Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives Jon Burns originally banned Moore from the House floor in March 2024 after Moore slammed the late House Speaker David Ralston as “one of the most corrupt” leaders in Georgia during the unveiling of Ralston’s portrait. Moore is part of the Georgia Freedom Caucus, a state chapter based on the far-right Freedom Caucus in the U.S. House.
Burns released a statement Friday saying that the Ralston family would like for every state lawmaker to be present at joint sessions, “with or without the apology they and the House deserve.” Burns did not say that this change applies outside of joint sessions.
“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,” he wrote.
Georgia State Patrol officers arrested Moore Thursday following a physical and verbal altercation, and Moore was held at the Fulton County Jail for misdemeanor obstruction before being released on a $1,000 bond. According to a video he posted to his X, he received medical care in Midtown following the incident.
Moore was arrested while trying to attend Gov. Brian Kemp’s State of the State address, during which the governor laid out his legislative priorities for the year. Moore told reporters Friday that he had a constitutional duty to appear at a joint session of the General Assembly.
“I didn’t get to see the State of the State, but as I was sitting in the Rice Street Fulton County Jail, I thought about what is the state of the state, and the state of the state is one of tyranny,” he said. “It’s one of tyranny when a sitting duly elected state senator is thrown to the ground by an attorney of the Speaker of the House for trying to do his legal obligation to fulfill his constitutional role.”
Georgia State Sen. Colton Moore speaks with reporters at the state Capitol on Friday, January 17, 2025, following his arrest the previous day for trying to enter the House chambers despite a ban on his entering the floor. (Rahul Bali/WABE)
Some legislators have defended Moore’s decision to show up for the State of the State.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who is a member of the Georgia Freedom Caucus, told senators on Friday that Moore had a duty to appear at a joint session and yesterday’s events were an “embarrassment” for the General Assembly as a whole.
“You are expected to be apart of everything, from a constitutional standpoint, everything that involves things that affect the people of Georgia,” he said. “An during the joint session yesterday, that was an event that affected the people of Georgia, and the people who are elected to represent should be there and present.”
“You have my word that this will not happen again under my watch, because I will make sure that every senator has a voice in this building,” he said to a round of applause.
Georgia Freedom Caucus Chair State Rep. Charlice Byrd called the arrest “dark and troubling.”
Clarification: The headline has been updated to reflect that House Speaker Jon Burns has allowed all members of the General Assembly to attend joint sessions in the House chambers but has not stated that the ban has against State Sen. Colton Moore been lifted outside of joint sessions.