Rep. David Eastman Eligibility Confirmed
The Alaska Supreme Court will not have a chance to rule on the case of a legislator accused of violating the state constitution’s disloyalty clause, clearing the way for him to take office.
On Tuesday, Matanuska-Susitna Borough resident Randall Kowalke said he will not appeal a lower-court defeat to the state’s high court, citing the risks of a failed argument.
The decision means Rep. David Eastman, R-Wasilla, is set to be sworn in for a new term Jan. 17, but it leaves legal ambiguity around how the disloyalty clause should be enforced in the future.
Kowalke said he is “absolutely” disappointed by the outcome after he sued Eastman and the Alaska Division of Elections in July, challenging the division’s decision to certify Eastman as a candidate despite more than a dozen objections.
Kowalke alleged that Eastman’s membership in the Oath Keepers, a group linked to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and labeled an antigovernment militia by the federal government, violates a clause of the Alaska Constitution.
That clause, written during the 1950s Red Scare, states that anyone who “advocates, aids or belongs to” a group that advocates the forcible overthrow of the U.S. government cannot hold public office in Alaska.
After a weeklong trial, Superior Court Judge Jack McKenna concluded that Eastman is a member of the Oath Keepers and the group does advocate the overthrow of the U.S. government, but that the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects Eastman unless he had “a specific intent to further the Oath Keepers’ words or actions aimed at overthrowing the United States government.”
Though Eastman was present at protests outside the Capitol’s restricted zone during the Jan. 6 insurrection, McKenna concluded that his presence was unrelated to any calls to action by the Oath Keepers and did not violate the First Amendment.
Kowalke said he was dissatisfied with that ruling.
“I was attempting to determine tolerance in Alaska for this kind of stuff,” he said, “and it sort of seems like you could join Hezbollah, but if you made an announcement the day you joined that you had no intention of furthering their goals, you’re good.”
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