Voters Sue To Kick Rep. Paul Gosar Off Of The Ballot In Arizona

In all three suits, the plaintiffs claim that the politicians are disqualified from seeking office because their support for rioters who attacked the Capitol made them “insurrectionists” under the Constitution and therefore barred them under the little-known third section of the 14th Amendment, adopted during Reconstruction to punish members of the Confederacy.

Gosar is open about his support for white supremacists, was kicked off of his committee assignments for posting a video threatening to kill Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, and has been widely reported along with Rep. Briggs as one of the House participants in Donald Trump’s attempted coup.

One gets the sense that these lawsuits would have better odds of success if they were filed after the 1/6 Committee issues their report. It is understandable why they are being filed now because time is of the essence, but if the plaintiffs had more evidence of coup participation, it would help their chances of a favorable ruling.

The lawsuits are important because they are a way to ensure that voters won’t forget that Republicans who are on the ballot and seeking majority power in November tried to overthrow the government.