The Arizona Supreme Court has rejected what Congressman Andy Biggs and others have described as a “frivolous” lawsuit aimed at “political harassment” that aimed at keeping him and Congressman Paul Gosar and Arizona State Representative Mark Finchem off the ballot.
The group, Free Speech for People, wanted to punish Biggs, Gosar, and Finchem for exercising their free speech rights. The group alleged, but offered no evidence in support, that the three lawmakers participated in or helped organize the January 6, 2021 rally in Washington, D.C.
The group Free Speech claimed that the three men should be barred from the ballot under a Civil War-era provision of the U.S. Constitution that says any public official who participates in an insurrection cannot hold office.
The court found that the Constitution gives Congress the exclusive authority to enforce that provision.
The group also lost its cases against Republican Reps. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.