U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, held a town hall Wednesday in Chatsworth, Georgia, for dozens of her supporters. The freshman Congresswoman told stories of her first few months in office and gave updates on some of the pieces of legislation she's working on.
Greene spoke for nearly two hours to a barn full of constituents, recapping the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, how Democrats voted to kick her off her committee assignments and the situation at the southern border. She criticized President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and reenacted two of her Twitter videos that went viral.
One topic that was brought up repeatedly - mostly by members of the audience both unprompted and in submitted questions - was the 2020 election, allegations of voter fraud and the perceived need to tighten voting laws. Several members of the audience said the November presidential election was rigged and wondered how they could sue Dominion Voting Systems over alleged faulty machines.
Such concerns have been stoked repeatedly by the losing candidate, former President Donald Trump, although his allegations were rejected by state election officials, judges, the Supreme Court and, eventually, Congress. One of Trump's allies in his effort, attorney Sidney Powell, said in court filings this week in a defamation case filed by Dominion that no reasonable person would have believed her railing against the machines as factual.
Greene gave an update on her Articles of Impeachment against Biden, telling the crowd the papers are waiting for the appropriate time to be pulled from the Judiciary Committee.
Greene praised law enforcement officers in Georgia and on the federal level and criticized the police reform bill named for George Floyd, who died May 25 under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer. She called the legislation the "Democrats hate police" bill. She said she strongly opposes taking away officers' qualified immunity, which protects officers against lawsuits in most cases.
"That is terrible," she said. "That is one of the things that protects the police. Because you know what they do? They have to arrest people."
Later in the night when a woman said police officers did not kill Floyd, Greene quickly and quietly disagreed with the woman before changing the subject to her critiques of defunding the police movement.
Greene used the latest mass shooting in Boulder, Colorado, as a reason for less restrictive gun laws.
"He committed a horrific crime," Greene said. "He's a terrible person, a murderer, a thug. But that is not a reason to take away everyone's guns."
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Marjorie Taylor Greene, Congresswoman for the 14th District in Georgia, speaks during the Murray County town hall meeting at The Cloer Barn on Wednesday, March 24, 2021 in Chatsworth, Ga.Greene pointed out the suspected gunman is Muslim American. She said she opposes any legislation that would put gun owners on any kind of list, saying it would infringe on their privacy.
Greene touted her newest piece of legislation: the Protect America First Act. The bill would, among other things, impose a full immigration stop during Biden's four-year term and would also name the "big, beautiful" border wall after Trump. That got plenty of cheers from the rowdy crowd Wednesday night.
After being kicked off her committee assignments in Congress over past statements on social media, Greene has spent her time in Washington being a thorn in Democrats' side. Before the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package was passed, Greene tried to delay the vote at least three times by forcing procedural votes to adjourn the House during hearings.
The tactic angered Democrats and even some Republicans who had to be excused from other committee meetings and duties to vote on Greene's adjournment motion.
Greene boasted about her efforts Wednesday and said lawmakers should have to "do their job" while in D.C.
Greene has been an outspoken critic of the COVID-19 relief bill, often calling it a "blue state bailout." She's also been critical of other bills that have passed since the Biden Administration took over, including the the anti-discrimination Equality Act. She said it "puts men in our little girls' bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams."
This is when she reenacted the video exchange she and her Capitol neighbor Rep. Marie Newman, D-Illinois, got into on Twitter, disagreeing over transgender rights.
Greene toured the Appalachian Regional Port in Murray County and Mannington Mills in Calhoun before her town hall.
Contact Patrick Filbin at pfilbin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickFilbin.
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Marjorie Taylor Greene, Congresswoman for the 14th District in Georgia, speaks during the Murray County town hall meeting at The Cloer Barn on Wednesday, March 24, 2021 in Chatsworth, Ga.