ATLANTA — A judge on Friday declined a Georgia state senator’s request for an arrest warrant against a state House staffer following a confrontation between the two earlier this year.
State Sen. Colton Moore, a Republican from Trenton, had sought the arrest warrant against Keith Williams, a lawyer in the House speaker’s office, after the two men were involved in a scuffle outside the House chamber in January. Fulton County Magistrate Judge Robert Wolf said at the end of a hearing that he hadn’t seen sufficient evidence to support probable cause that criminal charges were warranted.
A lawyer for Moore said they intend to appeal the judge’s decision to Fulton County Superior Court.
Moore, one of the state Senate’s most conservative members, was arrested Jan. 16 after he tried to push his way past House staffers who were blocking him as he tried multiple times to enter the state House chamber for the governor’s state of the state speech. House Speaker Jon Burns, a fellow Republican, banned him from the chamber last year after Moore denounced late House Speaker David Ralston on a day when Ralston was being honored and his relatives were watching.
Before trying to enter the House chamber, Moore told reporters that the law didn’t allow Burns to keep him from attending a joint House-Senate session to listen to Gov. Brian Kemp.
Williams put his arms around Moore and shoved him away as Moore tried to enter the House chamber, and the senator fell to the ground. State troopers handcuffed Moore and brought him to the Fulton County Jail, where he was booked on misdemeanor charges of willful obstruction of law enforcement officers.
The day after Moore’s arrest, Burns said he was lifting his ban on the senator entering the House chamber. State Senate and Republican Party leaders had rallied around Moore.
Moore was previously kicked out of the Senate Republican caucus in September 2023 after launching attacks on fellow Republicans for refusing to agree to a special session to act against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for indicting President Donald Trump. Kemp denounced the call as “ some grifter scam ” to raise campaign contributions for Moore.