Lawmakers, activists call for removal from Congress

Lawmakers and activists are calling to remove freshman GOP Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from the House Education Committee and from Congress.

Videos and social media activity from 2018 and 2019 recently resurfaced that show Greene harassing a survivor of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting, falsely suggesting that several deadly school and mass shootings were staged, indicating support for executing prominent Democrats, and expressing approval of far-right conspiracy theories.

“It’s absolutely appalling and I think that the focus has to be on the Republican leadership of this House of Representatives for the disregard they have for the deaths of those children,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at a weekly news conference Thursday.

Democratic Rep. Jahana Hayes circulated a letter Thursday asking House Republican leadership to remove Greene from her appointment on the House Committee on Education and Labor. Hayes represents Connecticut’s 5th District, including Newtown, where the deadly mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School occurred in 2012.

Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez of California announced Thursday he would introduce a resolution to expel Greene from Congress that would require a two-thirds majority to pass.

House Ethics Committee Chairman Rep. Ted Deutch also expressed support for Greene’s removal from Congress. The Democrat’s Florida district includes Parkland, where the 2018 deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School occurred.

The Georgia chapter of youth-led gun safety organization March For Our Lives led a demonstration Friday morning outside Greene’s office in Rome, Georgia. The group organized the event in response to a resurfaced video of Greene heckling David Hogg, a Parkland shooting survivor and co-founder of March For Our Lives, in 2019.

Activists demanded the immediate resignation or expulsion of the congresswoman. A petition calling for Greene’s resignation circulated by March For Our Lives received more than 100,000 signatures in 24 hours, the group said.

“We’re tired of her bringing shame onto our region,” Omar Rodriguez, an organizer with the Northwest Georgia Justice Coalition and a constituent in Greene’s district, said at the demonstration. “Greene is not one of us.”

Gun violence prevention groups Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action also called for Greene’s resignation.

The Republican Jewish Coalition released a statement Friday saying the group “has never supported or endorsed Marjorie Taylor Greene. We are offended and appalled by her comments and her actions.”

“She is far outside the mainstream of the Republican Party, and the RJC is working closely with the House Republican leadership regarding next steps in this…