Published: 14:52 EDT, 6 May 2022 | Updated: 16:27 EDT, 6 May 2022

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene should be allowed to run for reelection, a judge ruled on Friday, rejecting arguments by a group of Georgia voters that her comments about the Capitol riot made her unfit for Congress.

The ruling by Charles Beaudrot Jr., an administrative law judge in Atlanta, is only a recommendation. 

Georgia's Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, will make the final determination whether Greene, also a Republican, is qualified to run for reelection. A spokesman for Raffensperger's office said he 'will release his final decision soon.'

Greene, a prominent supporter of Donald Trump, is seeking reelection this year. The Republican primary is scheduled on May 24 and the general election on November 8.

The voters who tried to kick Greene off the ballot claimed she has constantly played down the violence on January 6 and has continued to back Trump.

A handful of Greene's constituents in a group called Free Speech For People sued to prevent her re-election, claiming she participated in assisting the Capitol attack and violated the 14th Amendment. 

Beaudrot wrote that there's no evidence that Greene participated in the attack on the Capitol or that she communicated with or gave directives to people who were involved.

'Whatever the exact parameters of the meaning of `engage´ as used in the 14th Amendment, and assuming for these purposes that the Invasion was an insurrection, Challengers have produced insufficient evidence to show that Rep. Greene `engaged´ in that insurrection after she took the oath of office on January 3, 2021,' he wrote.

In response to the judge's decision, Free Speech For People said: 'This decision betrays the fundamental purpose of the Fourteenth Amendment's Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause and gives a pass to political violence as a tool for disrupting and overturning free and fair elections.'

Greene testified in court on April 22 in the case to have her thrown off the ballot that she was a 'victim' of the Capitol riot - and thus not an active party in it. 

She also said she had never seen any violence from Trump supporters and thought  Antifa and Black Lives Matter were responsible for the chaos on January 6 while she was in Congress.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene should be allowed to run for reelection, a judge ruled on Friday, rejecting arguments by a group of Georgia voters that her comments about the Capitol riot made her unfit for Congress 

'I was on the House chamber when it happened. I had to be evacuated to safety,' she recounted from the stand. We were held for hours, in a secret location, protected by Capitol Police, military members for hours, until they cleared the Capitol.' 

'Yes, I was a victim of the riot that day,' the Georgia lawmaker added. 

To questions like whether she encouraged former President Donald Trump to impose martial law to stay in power she answered, 'I do not recall.' 

Her attorney, James Bopp Jr., claimed to also represent Trump and tried to make an executive privilege claim when questions about martial law were asked.  

The ruling by Charles Beaudrot Jr., an administrative law judge in Atlanta, is only a recommendation. Georgia's Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, will make the final determination whether Greene, also a Republican, is qualified to run for reelection

Greene testified under oath that she had never heard of any threats of violence in the lead-up to January 6 - instead saying she thought left-leaning activists were responsible.  

'I heard a gunshot, we all heard it. And we were so confused, we thought Antifa was breaking in or [Black Lives Matter], because those were the riots that had gone on and one all of 2020 - day in and day out - just horrible riots all over the country,' Greene recounted in the Georgia courtroom. 'That was the only thing that made sense for most of us.' 

She denied encouraging violence by telling Trump supporters to descend on D.C. the day Congress was counting the Electoral College votes, to cement now President Joe Biden as the 2020 election winner. 

'I was asking people to come for a peaceful march, which everyone is entitled to do under their First Amendment,' Greene said, with political ally Rep. Matt Gaetz seated in the audience. 'But I was not asking them to actively engage in violence or any type of action.'

Time and time again, she said she only believed leftists were capable of violence, defending some of the January 6 participants as 'patriots' because they were veterans.  

'The only violence I'd ever seen was Antifa and BLM riots and I've been to so many Trump rallies - have never once seen violence out of Trump people. I don't recall any talk of violence,' Greene said. 

'We mostly thought it was Antifa dressed up as Trump supporters,' Greene later testified when asked who she thought was attacking the Capitol when it went into lockdown.  

At a court hearing in Atlanta on April 25, Greene denied encouraging violence on January 6 as she took the stand Friday in a Georgia courtroom for an administrative hearing for the case to have her thrown off the ballot

One of the lawyers for the Georgia voters, Andrew Celli, focused intently on a Facebook video Greene had posted in the run-up to January 6 where she said Trump supporters should not accept a 'peaceful transfer' of power, like incoming President Joe Biden wanted. 

'She said the quiet part out loud,' Celli said during his closing statement.  

He had asked Greene about previous statements and social media postings the congresswoman made about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, including that she was guilty of treason and that a 'a bullet to the head would be quicker' to remove the California Democrat. 

Celli was trying to knock down Greene's testimony that she would 'never mean anything for violence.' 

'I don't support violence of any kind. And I've said it over and over again. So I I'm telling you,' Greene said Friday.  

On the stand, Greene denied specifically making those statements. 

'I'm not answering that question - speculation. No I haven't said that,' Greene answered when Celli asked her whether she thought, 'Speaker Pelosi is a traitor to the country, right?' 

 Greene then revised her answer. 

'Oh no wait. Hold on now, I believe by not upholding - by not securing the border that that violates her oath of office,' the lawmaker said. 

Celli asked Greene, specifically, if she used the words 'traitor to the country' about Pelosi. And asked her if 'it's a crime punishable by death is what treason is. Nancy Pelosi is guilty of treason.'

'This is what I was telling you - she doesn't uphold our laws,' Greene answered. 

'It's a simple yes or no question - did you say those words?' the lawyer asked.

She also said she had never seen any violence from Trump supporters and thought Antifa and Black Lives Matter were responsible for the chaos on January 6 while she was in Congress 

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