ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An Alaska legislator’s membership in the far-right Oath Keepers is at the center of a trial that began Tuesday.
A lawsuit filed earlier this year challenges Wasilla Rep. David Eastman’s eligibility to hold public office, based on a clause in the Alaska state constitution that forbids someone from holding public office if they aid or belong to a group that advocates the overthrow of the U.S. government. The court case against Eastman, a Republican, will be the first to test the Alaska Constitution clause.
The lawsuit was filed by former Mat-Su assembly member Randall Kowalke, who is seeking to disqualify Eastman from office. Despite the pending legal challenge, Eastman won reelection in a landslide last month to his Wasilla House seat, garnering over 50% of the vote in a three-way race against two other Republicans.
