In this time of great political polarization in the U.S., a far-right conspiracy group called QAnon seems to be actively trying to make the division worse. Although they used to be a small fringe group, one of the members now sits in the Capitol building. Marjorie Taylor Greene is a Republican Congresswoman from the state of Georgia. Despite being a freshman in the House, she has made headlines in the 116th Congress by spreading some strange and potentially harmful conspiracy theories. As a result, she has been taken off of her committees, and many are calling for her expulsion from Congress. 

Before zeroing in on Greene, the group that calls itself QAnon needs to be explored more deeply. The far-right group is believed to have started in 2017, the same year that President Donald Trump took office. This is not a coincidence. Members of the conspiracy group believe that cannibalistic, pedophilia-loving, and Satan-worshiping people have started a sex-trafficing system that has infiltarated the world that we live in. QAnon’s theory states that the terrible people described above, known as the cabal, are plotting against Trump and have infiltrated the higher ranks of the U.S. government. They believe that Trump is planning a day of reckoning, wherein members of the cabal will be arrested. Despite the growing role that the group has in the media these days, it is important to remember that QAnon is a conspiracy theory, with no evidence to support it. Yet somehow, a member of QAnon got herself elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. 

At 46 years old, Marjorie Taylor Greene won Georgia’s 14th district with over 74% of the vote, beating Democrat Kevin Van Ausdal. Because she ran a successful construction company with her husband, Perry Greene, she was able to self-finance most of her campaign, which gave her an edge in her primary election. In a runoff election against Republican John Cowan, Greene pulled off a victory, and was then all-but guaranteed the election to Congress.  She has a long history of making remarks that can be hurtful to groups including Muslims, Jews, and other minorities. Furthermore, she has attacked individuals such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at whom she directed extremely profane language at her primary election victory party. And now with an office in the Capitol building, Greene can relax, knowing that she is free to speak her mind, and she will still likely continue to hold her seat for many years.

The U.S. House of Representatives is the most democratic part of our federal government. The members are directly elected in the districts where they are most known. Therefore, the people get a say as to who they want serving their district in the federal government. That does not, however, mean that the people always choose the most fit candidates to represent them. Since the Constitution was ratified in 1787, 20 members of either the House or Senate have been removed from office. Senator William Blount was expelled for treason for attempting to aid the British in conquering the Spanish territory in 1797. Seventeen members were forced out of office for supporting the Confederacy in the Civil War. Congressman Micheal Myers was expelled for bribery in 1980, and Congressman Jim Traficant was forced to leave office in 2002, due to ten counts, including bribery and tax evasion. It takes a whopping two-thirds of the House to expel a Congressperson, and the same goes in the Senate to fire a Senator. But even with the low odds for success, the Democrats should still try to expel Greene from Congress for the good of our country and its citizens.

Some might say that expelling a Congresswoman for her views is undemocratic, and a bad precedent to set. That is true, but one must consider the danger that her views pose on the country. Greene has liked social media posts that hint at wanting to kill some of her Democratic colleagues. She has denied that the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Fla. took place. She has said that Jews caused the California wildfires with space lasers. She needs to go. The consequences of her inappropriate rhetoric have horrible implications for the future. In these divided times, almost everyone feels compelled to vote along party lines, even when they have disagreements with candidates of the same party. Therefore, when Republicans vote for Greene in the future, they will be voting for QAnon, and terrible beliefs that threaten both our country and our people. She is a danger to the U.S., serving in Congress when she is clearly unfit to represent her district. Though democratically elected, she has made it clear that she is completely undeserving of the power she now has. Unfortunately, it would take 290 votes to expel her, (at least 68 Republicans), and the odds of that happening are astronomical. But having someone so unhinged, yet serving in such an important position, is terrifying to think about.