Trial starts: Alaska lawmaker with Oath Keepers ties (David Eastman)
Source: Associated Press
Trial starts: Alaska lawmaker with Oath Keepers ties
By MARK THIESSEN
December 14, 2022
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska lawmaker may be unfit to hold office because he’s a member of the Oath Keepers, a far-right extremist group that has either advocated for or engaged in concrete action to overthrow the U.S. government, a lawyer said Tuesday in opening arguments for a case against state Rep. David Eastman.
“We are going to present overwhelming evidence on both those elements,” said Goriune Dudukgian, a lawyer with an Anchorage civil rights law firm. Dudukgian represents Randall Kowalke, a Wasilla resident whose lawsuit seeks to disqualify Eastman from holding office.
The bench trial before Superior Court Judge Jack McKenna will determine whether Eastman, a Wasilla Republican, will be allowed to be seated in the Legislature next month after winning reelection last month. McKenna earlier ordered the state Division of Elections not to certify the results of the race pending an outcome in this case.
Kowalke’s lawsuit points to a provision in the Alaska Constitution stating that no one who “advocates, or who aids or belongs to any party or organization or association which advocates, the overthrow by force or violence of the government of the United States or of the State shall be qualified to hold” public office.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-lawsuits-anchorage-government-and-politics-a7d93b054381668cfba43fe44609c6ec
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