Georgia state senator pushes for arrest of House lawyer
A Fulton Superior Court judge will decide if a Georgia House staffer should be charged for his part in a tussle outside the chamber earlier this year that led to him shoving a state senator to the ground.
State Sen. Colton Moore, a Republican from Trenton, has been seeking charges against the House speaker’s general counsel Keith Williams. Williams blocked Moore from entering the chamber during a Jan. 16 joint session of the House and Senate, grabbing and pushing the senator to the ground.
A Fulton County magistrate judge told Moore during a March hearing that he had not proved probable cause for a warrant to be issued for Williams’ arrest. Moore had asked that Williams be charged on a variety of charges including battery and aggravated battery. Moore appealed the decision, leading to Thursday’s superior court hearing.
In the hearing, Superior Court Judge Shermela Williams — no relation to Keith Williams — said she would review the record of the March proceeding and issue a ruling as soon as possible.
Attorneys for both Moore and Williams pointed to the lack of action from the more than a dozen Capitol Police officers who witnessed the altercation as proof that their client was in the right.
Williams’ attorney Andrew Fleischman said Moore was being disorderly and trying to physically force his way into the House chamber.
“There were six troopers watching this interaction,” Fleischman said. “None of them thought Mr. Williams committed a crime. The magistrate judge didn’t think Mr. Williams committed a crime.”
Catherine Bernard, Moore’s attorney, said Williams’ connection to the current and former House speaker likely led him to react to Moore emotionally.
“I guarantee you that if there had actually been legal authority to keep Colton Moore out of the House, those Georgia state troopers would have been the ones taking the action that Keith Williams undertook,” she said.
The legal drama is the latest in Moore’s long conflict with members of his own party. Moore was banished from the House last year after making disparaging public comments about deceased former House Speaker David Ralston.
In January, Moore announced he was going to ignore the ban to attend the joint session. Williams and House doorkeeper Cory Mulkey physically blocked Moore from entering before Williams pushed Moore, who fell to the ground. House Speaker Jon Burns reversed his order the day after Moore’s arrest.
Moore was arrested after the scuffle and charged with “willful obstruction of law enforcement officers,” a misdemeanor. That case has been referred to the Prosecuting Attorney’s Council and there are no further updates, Bernard said.
During the hearing, attorneys for Moore and Williams both alleged the other was misrepresenting what happened in court earlier this year.
“Colton Moore has told zero lies. No one on our side has told any lies,” Bernard said. “Unfortunately the other side is lying to protect political violence against a sitting state senator. It’s a disturbing situation but we have a lot of confidence that Judge Williams is going to come to the right conclusion after she has the opportunity to review the entire record.”
About the Author
Maya T. Prabhu covers the Georgia Senate and statewide issues as a government reporter for The AJC. Born in Queens, New York, and raised in northern Virginia, Maya attended Spelman College and then the University of Maryland for a master's degree. She writes about social issues, the criminal justice system and legislative politics.
