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Courts must 'go far faster than they're used to' ruling on lawsuit against Rep. Perry

A lawsuit filed in the Pennsylvania courts is asking the state to remove Congressman Scott Perry from the ballot before April's primary elections.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Republican Congressman Scott Perry is the latest to face a legal challenge related to the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. The new lawsuit centers around Perry's involvement in the events leading up to January 6, 2021.

Section three was drafted in response to the American Civil War, keeping members of the Confederacy from taking office in the U.S.

It states in part, "No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress... to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof."

"Really it just says if you have engaged in any kind of insurrection against the United States government if you are an office holder, you should be banned from running again," said Dr. Alison Dagnes, chair of the political science department at Shippensburg University.

 The lawsuit brought by activist Gene Stilp in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania claims Perry was involved in an insurrection, citing emails and texts he sent before the U.S. Capitol riot in January 2021.

"The issue in Congressman Perry's case is what do you need to prove that the individual engaged in a rebellion or an insurrection?" said John E. Jones, president of Dickinson College and a former federal judge.

"In 2022, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs all had challenges based on the 14th Amendment against them too and they didn't stick," Dagnes added. "One of the reasons that they didn't stick is that no one has been convicted of an insurrection and that is a very big problem."

Jones expects the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to take over the case that could have a lasting impact nationwide.

"It does have far-reaching ramifications because Congressman Perry wasn't the only one, the only member of Congress, who ostensibly participated in some of these activities," Jones said. 

The final decision may come from the nation's high court.

"I would imagine because we are a swing state, because we are so sharply divided, that our court system is going to have to take this up quickly, knowing that the Supreme Court is going to weigh in," Dagnes said.

"This is going to really call for the courts to go far faster than they're used to," Jones added.

In a statement to FOX43, a Perry spokesperson called the challenge "a frivolous lawsuit filed by a fringe activist whose claim to fame is an inflatable pink pig."

The courts will have to move fast because of the April primary, but an important deadline is coming up even sooner. Candidates have from January 23 to February 13 to circulate and file nomination petitions -- the first step to get on the ballot.

The experts FOX43 spoke to agree the next few months could get messy in the courts.

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