In a sign that the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol continues to affect state and local politics, two figures with prominent roles in the events leading up to and following the insurrection testified this week on behalf of a state politician seeking to stay in office despite ties to an antigovernment extremist group. Election denier John Eastman and convicted seditionist Stewart Rhodes, founder and leader of the Oath Keepers, testified this week in the civil case against Alaska Rep. David Eastman before Superior Court Judge Jack McKenna in Anchorage, Alaska. The case against Rep. Eastman centers around his unrepentant membership in the antigovernment group Oath Keepers. A constituent challenged Eastman’s eligibility to hold office under a clause in the state constitution that disqualifies from public office anyone who belongs to an organization that advocates the overthrow of the U.S. government. Appearing to disagree with the federal jury that found Rhodes and other Oath Keeper leaders guilty of seditious conspiracy and other charges, John Eastman (no relation to the Alaskan lawmaker) testified that Rep. Eastman’s Oath Keepers membership was a First Amendment-protected association, claiming that the Oath Keepers founder’s statements in the planning of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol did not constitute “incitement to imminent lawless action.”
via splcenter: Convicted Oath Keepers Founder, Trump Lawyer Testify for Alaska State Rep.