Georgia House bans Trenton’s Colton Moore

ATLANTA, Ga. (WDEF) – A controversial lawmaker from Northwest Georgia has just been banned by his own party.

Colton Moore represents Dade, Walker and Catoosa counties in the State Senate.

But he has run afoul of his fellow Republicans over remarks he made about the former House Speaker in Georgia.

The Senate was paying tribute to David Ralston from Blue Ridge, who died in office two years ago.

They named a building at his alma mater, University of North Georgia, after him.

And they dedicated a portrait of him to hang at the capitol.

The current, and two previous Republican Governors all paid tribute.

But during the tributes, Moore rose to chide his fellow Senators for honoring Ralston.

“This body is about to memorialize, in my opinion, one of the most corrupt Georgia leaders that we are ever going to see in my lifetime.”

The speaker pro temp later apologized to the Ralston family for Moore’s remarks.

But current House Speaker Jon Burns, who was a close friend of Ralston’s, went even further.

“I’m going to ask the door keeper of this house, Cory Mulkey, at no time in the future will the Senator from the 53rd be allowed to come to that anteroom, or any property of the Georgia House.”

The announcement drew a standing ovation from the House members and even got approval from democrats who called Ralston a very fair speaker.

Capitol officials say this is the first time a sitting state senator has ever been banned from walking into the House.

This is not Moore’s first censure by his own party.

Senate Republicans banned him from joining their caucus meetings last fall over his insistence on impeaching Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for prosecuting Donald Trump.

Moore kept pushing for impeachment hearings even after Governor Brian Kemp announced he didn’t back the move.

Since then, Republicans have had some success attacking Willis over appointing a special prosecutor she had a personal relationship with to lead the Trump prosecution.

Today, a judge ruled that she could stay on the case, but she had to drop the prosecutor from it.

Nathan Wade did formally step down this afternoon.