Roy Stewart Moore (born February 11, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer, and jurist who served as the 27th and 31st chief justice of the

Supreme Court of Alabama The Supreme Court of Alabama is the highest court in the state of Alabama. The court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Each justice is elected in partisan elections for staggered six-year terms. The Supreme Court is hous ...

from 2001 to 2003 and again from 2013 to 2017, each time being removed from office for judicial misconduct by the

Alabama Court of the Judiciary The Alabama Court of the Judiciary is a court within the judicial branch of the American state of Alabama. It has the power to try judicial officers in other state courts and punish them for violation of judicial ethics, misconduct, dereliction of ...

. He was the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee in the 2017 U.S. Senate special election in Alabama to fill the seat vacated by

Jeff Sessions Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 84th United States Attorney General from 2017 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as United States ...

, but was accused by several women of sexual misconduct and lost to Democratic candidate Doug Jones. Moore ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate in 2020. Moore attended

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

and served as a company commander in the Military Police Corps during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. After graduating from the

University of Alabama Law School The University of Alabama School of Law, (formerly known as the Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. School of Law at The University of Alabama) located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama is a nationally ranked top-tier law school and the only public law school in the st ...

, he joined the

Etowah County Etowah County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census the population was 103,436. Its county seat is Gadsden. Its name is from a Cherokee word meaning "edible tree". In total area, it i ...

district attorney's office, serving as an

assistant district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a lo ...

from 1977 to 1982. In 1992, he was appointed as a circuit judge by Governor

Guy Hunt Harold Guy Hunt (June 17, 1933 – January 30, 2009) was an American politician, pastor, and convicted felon who served as the 49th governor of Alabama from 1987 to 1993. He was the first Republican to serve as governor of the state since Re ...

to fill a vacancy, and was elected to the position at the next term. In 2001, Moore was elected to the position of chief justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama. Moore was removed from his position in November 2003 by the Alabama Court of the Judiciary for refusing a federal court's order to remove a marble monument of the

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...

that he had placed in the rotunda of the

Alabama Judicial Building Heflin-Torbert Judicial Building, commonly called the Alabama Judicial Building, is a state government building in Montgomery, Alabama. It houses several state judicial agencies, most notably the Supreme Court of Alabama, Alabama Court of Civil A ...

. Moore sought the Republican nomination for the

governorship A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Alabama in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, but lost in the primaries. Moore was elected again as chief justice in 2013, but he was suspended in May 2016, for defying a

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

decision about

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

(''

Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark LGBT rights case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protect ...

''). Moore resigned in April 2017. On September 26, 2017, he won a primary runoff to become the Republican candidate in a special election for a U.S. Senate seat that had been vacated by Jeff Sessions. In November 2017, during his special election campaign for U.S. Senate, several public allegations of

sexual misconduct Sexual misconduct is misconduct of a sexual nature which exists on a spectrum that may include a broad range of sexual behaviors considered unwelcome. This includes conduct considered inappropriate on an individual or societal basis of morality, se ...

were made against Moore. Three women stated that he had sexually assaulted them when they were at the respective ages of 14, 16 and 28. Moore acknowledged that he may have approached and dated teenagers while he was in his 30s, but denied that any of the girls were

underage In law, a minor is someone under a certain age, usually the age of majority, which demarcates an underage individual from legal adulthood. The age of majority depends upon jurisdiction and application, but it is commonly 18. ''Minor'' may also ...

or that he had sexually assaulted anyone. President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

endorsed Moore a week before the election, after which some Republicans withdrew their opposition to Moore. Democrat Doug Jones won the election, becoming the first Democrat since 1992 to win a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama. Moore has been described as an advocate of far-right politics. He has attracted national media attention and controversy over his views on

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

people, and

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, his belief that

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

should order public policy,

and his past ties to

neo-Confederate Neo-Confederates are groups and individuals who portray the Confederate States of America and its actions during the American Civil War in a positive light. The League of the South, the Sons of Confederate Veterans and other neo-Confederate org ...

s and

white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...

groups. Moore was a leading voice in the

birther movement During Barack Obama's campaign for president in 2008, throughout his presidency and afterwards, there was extensive news coverage of Obama's religious preference, birthplace, and of the individuals questioning his religious belief and citi ...

, which promoted the false claim that president

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

was not born in the United States. This movement has promoted the claim before, during, and since Obama's time in office. He founded the

Foundation for Moral Law The Foundation for Moral Law is a socially conservative, Christian right legal advocacy group based in Montgomery, Alabama.

Early life

Education and military service

Moore was born in

Gadsden, Alabama Gadsden is a city in and the county seat of Etowah County in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is located on the Coosa River about northeast of Birmingham and southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is the primary city of the Gadsden Metropolitan ...

, the seat of

, to construction worker Roy Baxter Moore, who died in 1967, and His parents met and married after his father, who served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, was discharged from the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. Moore was the oldest of five children. While growing up, he had two brothers and two sisters. In 1954, the Moores relocated to

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, the site of a postwar building boom. After about four years, they returned to Alabama, then moved to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, and then returned permanently to Alabama. Moore's father worked for the

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolina ...

, first building

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

s and later the Anniston Army Depot. Moore attended his freshman year of high school at Gallant near Gadsden, and transferred to Etowah County

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

for his final three years, graduating in 1965. Moore was admitted to the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...

, on the recommendation of outgoing Democratic

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Albert Rains, and after confirmation of that nomination by incoming Republican representative

James D. Martin James Douglas Martin (September 1, 1918 – October 30, 2017) was an American politician. Martin was born in Tarrant, Alabama. He served as a member for the 7th district of Alabama of the United States House of Representatives The U ...

of Gadsden. He graduated in 1969 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree. With the

underway, Moore served in several posts as a military police officer, including

Fort Benning, Georgia Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

, and Illesheim,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, before being deployed to

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

. Serving as the commander of 188th Military Police Company of the 504th Military Police Battalion, Moore was perceived to be reckless, but very strict. He insisted his troops salute him on the battlefield, despite official training which discourages such behavior because salutes can identify an officer to enemy targeting. Some of his soldiers gave him the derogatory nickname "Captain America", due to his attitude toward discipline. This role earned him enemies, and in his autobiography he recalls sleeping on sandbags to avoid a grenade or bomb being tossed under his cot, as many of his men had threatened him with

fragging Fragging is the deliberate or attempted killing by a soldier of a fellow soldier, usually a superior. U.S. military personnel coined the word during the Vietnam War, when such killings were most often attempted with a fragmentation grenade, some ...

. Moore was discharged from the

as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1974, and was admitted to the

University of Alabama School of Law The University of Alabama School of Law, (formerly known as the Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr. School of Law at The University of Alabama) located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama is a nationally ranked top-tier law school and the only public law school in the st ...

that same year. Professors and fellow students held him in low regard due to his incapacity for keen analysis.Why Roy Moore’s Law-School Professor Nicknamed Him Fruit Salad
, ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', Charles Bethea, October 26, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2019.

Elections and travels

Moore soon moved to the district attorney's office, working as the first full-time prosecutor in Etowah County. During his tenure there, Moore was investigated by the state bar for "suspect conduct" after convening a grand jury to examine what he perceived to have been funding shortages in the

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

's office. Several weeks after the state bar investigation was dismissed as unfounded, Moore quit his prosecuting position to run as a Democrat for the county's circuit-court judge seat in 1982. The election was bitter, with Moore alleging that cases were being delayed in exchange for payoffs. The allegations were never substantiated. Moore overwhelmingly lost the Democratic runoff primary to fellow attorney Donald Stewart, whom Moore described as "an honorable man for whom I have much respect, (who) eventually became a close friend". A second bar complaint against Moore followed, which was dismissed as unfounded. Moore left Gadsden shortly thereafter to live for a year in Australia. In Australia, a country Moore said later he had wanted to visit after his service in Vietnam but was unable to at the time, he went to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. From the state capital,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, he first went to

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

and helped with the sugar cane harvest, then inland to what is now the Central Highlands Region, where he fulfilled his longtime desire to see the

Outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...

, eventually working at the Telemon ranch near

Springsure Springsure is a town and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Emerald, Queensland, Emerald on the Gregory Highway. It is the southern terminus of the Gregory Highwa ...

, a town where many residents are devout Christians. One of them, the Rolfe family, ran Telemon, and spoke highly of Moore to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' in 2017, "I don't think he'd ever done that sort of manual labor in his life," said Isla Turner, daughter of Colin Rolfe, who had taken Moore in, "but he took to it like a duck to water". Moore returned to Gadsden in 1985, and at that time married Kayla Kisor. He ran in 1986 for Etowah County's district attorney position against fellow Democrat Jimmy Hedgspeth. Losing once more, Moore returned to private practice in the city. In 1992, Moore switched his affiliation to the Republican Party.

Judicial career

Circuit Judge (1992–2000)

Appointment

In 1992, Etowah County circuit judge Julius Swann died in office. Republican

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

H. Guy Hunt was charged with making an appointment until the next election. Moore's name was floated by some of his associates, and a background check was initiated with several state and county agencies, including the Etowah County district attorney's office. Moore's former political opponent Jimmy Hedgspeth, who still helmed the D.A.'s office, recommended Moore despite personal reservations, and Moore was installed in the position he had failed to win in 1982. Moore ran as a Republican in the 1994 Etowah County election and was elected to the circuit judge seat (6 year term) with 62% of the vote. He was the first county-wide Republican to win since

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

Early prayer/Ten Commandments controversy

During Moore's tenure as circuit judge, he hung a homemade wooden Ten Commandments plaque on the wall of his courtroom behind his bench. Moore told the ''

Montgomery Advertiser The ''Montgomery Advertiser'' is a daily newspaper and news website located in Montgomery, Alabama. It was founded in 1829. History The newspaper began publication in 1829 as ''The Planter's Gazette.'' Its first editor was Moseley Baker. It ...

'' that his intention in hanging the plaque was to fill up the bare space on the courtroom walls and to indicate the importance of the Ten Commandments. He stated that it was not his intention to generate controversy. He told ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' that he understood the potential for controversy existed, but "I wanted to establish the moral foundation of our law." While Moore presided over a murder case shortly after his appointment, the defendant's attorney objected to the plaque. This attracted the attention of critics who also objected to Moore's practice of opening court sessions with a

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

beseeching divine guidance for jurors in their deliberations. In at least one case, Moore asked a clergyman to lead the court's jury pool in prayer. The local branch of the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

(ACLU) sent a letter in June 1993 threatening a lawsuit if such prayers did not cease. On June 20, 1994, the ACLU sent a representative to Moore's courtroom to observe and record the pre-session prayer. Although the organization did not immediately file suit, Moore decried the action as an "act of intimidation" in a post-trial press conference. The incident drew additional attention to Moore while he was campaigning to hold onto his circuit court seat. In that year's election, Moore won the seat in a

landslide victory A landslide victory is an election result in which the victorious candidate or party wins by an overwhelming margin. The term became popular in the 1800s to describe a victory in which the opposition is "buried", similar to the way in which a geol ...

over attorney Keith Pitts, who had unsuccessfully prosecuted the "Silk and Satin" murder case.

Lawsuit

In March 1995, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Moore, stating that the pre-court session prayers and the Ten Commandments display were both unconstitutional. This original lawsuit was eventually dismissed for technical reasons, but Governor

Fob James Forrest Hood "Fob" James Jr. (born September 15, 1934) is an American civil engineer, entrepreneur, football player, and politician. He served as the 48th governor of Alabama, first as a Democrat, 1979–1983, and secondly as a Republican, 199 ...

instructed state attorney general Bill Pryor to file suit in Montgomery County in support of Moore. The case was tried before state circuit judge Charles Price, who in 1996 declared the prayers unconstitutional but initially allowed the Ten Commandments plaque to remain on the courtroom walls. Immediately after the ruling, Moore held a press conference vowing to defy the ruling against pre-session prayers and affirming a religious intent in displaying the plaque. Critics responded by asking Price to reconsider his previous ruling, and the judge issued a new ruling requiring the Ten Commandments plaque to be removed in ten days. Moore appealed Price's decision and kept the plaque up; ten days later the Supreme Court of Alabama issued a temporary stay against the ruling. The Court never ruled in the case, throwing it out for technical reasons in 1998.

Chief Justice, Alabama Supreme Court (2001–2003 and 2012–2017)

Campaign and election

In late 1999, the American Family Association began working to draft Moore into the race for chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, when incumbent Republican Perry O. Hooper, Sr., of Montgomery announced that he would not seek reelection. Moore said that he was hesitant to make the statewide race because he had "absolutely no funds" and three other candidates, particularly Associate Justice

Harold See Harold Frend See, Jr. (born November 7, 1943) is a legal scholar and was an associate justice of the Alabama Supreme Court from 1997 to 2009. The son of Harold F. See, Sr., and Corinne See, he was born at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in ...

, were well-financed. Nevertheless, on December 7, 1999, Moore announced from his Etowah County courtroom that he would enter the race with the hope of returning "God to our public life and restore the moral foundation of our law". His campaign, centered on religious issues, arguing that Christianity's declining influence "corresponded directly with school violence, homosexuality, and crime". See was the heavy favorite to win the Republican nomination because of his support from the state business community and the party hierarchy, including Chief Justice Hooper. However, as Moore made headway in state polls, See elicited the help of Republican

strategist A strategist is a person with responsibility for the formulation and implementation of a strategy. Strategy generally involves setting goals, determining actions to achieve the goals, and mobilizing resources to execute the actions. A strategy ...

Karl Rove, advisor to Texas governor and future

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. Despite Rove's support and significantly more campaign funding, See lost the primary to Moore. Judge Moore also beat two other opponents, criminal appeals judge Pam Baschab, and Jefferson County presiding circuit judge Wayne Thorn, in the Republican Primary—without a runoff—garnering over 50% of the statewide primary vote. Judge Moore then easily defeated Democratic contender Sharon Yates in November's general election with over 60% of the vote. Moore was sworn in as chief justice on January 15, 2001. Former U.S. representative James D. Martin, who had appointed Moore to West Point years earlier, was among the dignitaries in attendance. On taking the position, Moore said that he had "come to realize the real meaning of the

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

and its relationship to the God on whom the oath was based. My mind had been opened to the spiritual war occurring in our state and our nation that was slowly removing the knowledge of that relationship between God and law."

I pledged to support not only the U.S. Constitution, but the Alabama Constitution as well, which provided in its preamble that the state 'established justice' by 'invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God.' The connection between God and our law could not be more clear ...

Ten Commandments monument controversy

Construction and installation

A month after his election, Moore began making plans for a large monument to the Ten Commandments, believing that the Heflin-Torbert Judicial Building required something grander than a wooden plaque. His final design involved a

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

block, wide by three feet deep by tall, covered with quotes from the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

, the national anthem, and several founding fathers. The crowning element would be two large carved tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments. High-grade granite from

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

was ordered and shipped, and Moore found benefactors and a sculptor to complete the job. Moore's actions were made without the consent or knowledge of the eight associate justices. On the evening of July 31, 2001, Moore had the completed monument transported to the building and installed in the rotunda. Videotapes of this event were sold by Coral Ridge Ministries, an evangelical media outlet in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

, which later used proceeds from the sales of the tapes to underwrite Moore's ensuing legal expenses. The next morning, Moore held a press conference in the rotunda to publicly unveil the monument. In a speech following the unveiling, Moore declared, "Today a cry has gone out across our land for the acknowledgment of that God upon whom this nation and our laws were founded ... May this day mark the restoration of the moral foundation of law to our people and the return to the knowledge of God in our land."

Federal lawsuit

On October 30, 2001, the ACLU of Alabama, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white s ...

were among groups that filed suit in the

United States District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

for the Middle District of Alabama, asking that the monument be removed because it "sends a message to all who enter the Heflin-Torbert Judicial Building that the government encourages and endorses the practice of religion in general and

Judeo-Christian The term Judeo-Christian is used to group Christianity and Judaism together, either in reference to Christianity's derivation from Judaism, Christianity's borrowing of Jewish Scripture to constitute the "Old Testament" of the Christian Bible, or ...

ity in particular". The trial, titled '' Glassroth v. Moore'', began on October 15, 2002. Evidence for the plaintiffs included testimony that lawyers of different religious beliefs had changed their work practices, including routinely avoiding visiting the court building to avoid passing by the monument, and testimony that the monument created a religious atmosphere, with many people using the area for prayer. Moore argued that he would not remove the monument, as doing so would violate his oath of office:

he monumentserves to remind the Appellate Courts and judges of the Circuit and District Court of this State and members of the bar who appear before them, as well as the people of Alabama who visit the eflin-Torbet Judicial Building of the truth stated in the Preamble to the Alabama Constitution that in order to establish justice we must invoke 'the favor and guidance of almighty God'.

On this note, Moore said that the Ten Commandments are the "moral foundation" of U.S. law, stating that in order to restore this foundation, "we must first recognize the source from which all morality springs ... yrecogniz ngthe sovereignty of God." He added that the addition of the monument to the state judiciary building marked "the beginning of the restoration of the moral foundation of law to our people" and "a return to the knowledge of God in our land". Additionally, Moore acknowledged an explicit theistic intent in placing the monument, agreeing that the monument "reflects the sovereignty of God over the affairs of men" and "acknowledge God's overruling power over the affairs of men". However, in Moore's view this did not violate the doctrine of

separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...

; as the presiding judge later summarized it, Moore argued "the Judeo-Christian God reigned over both the church and the state in this country, and that both owed allegiance to that God," although they must keep their affairs separate.

Judgment and appeal

On November 18, 2002, federal U.S. district judge

Myron Herbert Thompson Myron Herbert Thompson (born January 7, 1947) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. Education and career Born in Tuskegee, Alabama, Thompson received a Bachelor of Art ...

issued his ruling declaring that the monument violated the

Establishment Clause In United States law, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, together with that Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, form the constitutional right of freedom of religion. The relevant constitutional text ...

of the

First Amendment to the United States Constitution The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws that regulate an establishment of religion, or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, the ...

and was thus unconstitutional:

If all Chief Justice Moore had done were to emphasize the Ten Commandments' historical and educational importance ... or their importance as a model code for good citizenship ... this court would have a much different case before it. But the Chief Justice did not limit himself to this; he went far, far beyond. He installed a two-and-a-half ton monument in the most prominent place in a government building, managed with dollars from all state taxpayers, with the specific purpose and effect of establishing a permanent recognition of the 'sovereignty of God,' the Judeo-Christian God, over all citizens in this country, regardless of each taxpaying citizen's individual personal beliefs or lack thereof. To this, the Establishment Clause says no.

Judge Thompson's decision mandated that Moore remove the monument from the state judicial building by January 3, 2003, but stayed this order on December 23, 2002, after Moore appealed the decision to the

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (in case citations, 11th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following U.S. district courts: * Middle District of Alabama * Northern District of Alabama * ...

. This appeal was argued on June 4, 2003, before a three-judge panel in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. On July 1, 2003, the panel issued a ruling upholding the lower court's decision, agreeing that "the monument fails two of ''

Lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

'' three prongs. It violates the Establishment Clause." Additionally, the court noted that different religious traditions assign different wordings of the Ten Commandments, meaning that "choosing which version of the Ten Commandments to display can have religious endorsement implications". In response to the appeals court's decision, Judge Thompson lifted his stay on August 5, 2003, requiring Moore to have the monument removed from public areas of the state judicial building by August 20.

Protests and monument removal

On August 14, Moore announced his intention to defy Judge Thompson's order to have the monument removed. Two days later, large rallies in support of Moore and the Ten Commandments monument formed in front of the judicial building, featuring speakers such as

Alan Keyes Alan Lee Keyes (born August 7, 1950) is an American politician, political activist, author, and perennial candidate who served as the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 1985 to 1987. A member of the Repub ...

, the Reverend Jerry Falwell, and Moore himself. The crowd peaked at an estimated count of 4,000 that day, and anywhere from several hundred to over a thousand protesters remained through the end of August. The time limit for removal expired on August 20, with the monument still in place in the building's rotunda. As specified in Judge Thompson's order, the state of Alabama faced fines of $5,000 a day until the monument was removed. In response, the eight other members of the Alabama Supreme Court intervened on August 21, unanimously overruled Moore, and ordered the removal of the monument. Moore said that Thompson, "fearing that I would not obey his order, decided to threaten other state officials and force them to remove the monument if I did not do so. A threat of heavy fines was his way of coercing obedience to that order," an action that Moore saw as a violation of the

Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution The Eleventh Amendment (Amendment XI) is an amendment to the United States Constitution which was passed by Congress on March 4, 1794, and ratified by the states on February 7, 1795. The Eleventh Amendment restricts the ability of individuals to ...

. On August 27, the monument was moved to a non-public side room in the judicial building. The monument was not immediately removed from the building for several reasons—pending legal hearings, the monument's weight, worries that the monument could break through the floor if it was taken outside intact, and a desire to avoid confrontation with protesters massed outside the structure. The monument was not actually removed from the state judicial building until July 19, 2004.

Removal from office

On August 22, 2003, two days after the deadline for the Ten Commandments monument's removal had passed, the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC) filed a complaint with the Alabama Court of the Judiciary (COJ), a panel of judges, lawyers and others appointed variously by judges, legal leaders, the governor and the lieutenant governor. The complaint effectively suspended Moore from the chief justice position pending a hearing by the COJ. The COJ ethics hearing was held on November 12, 2003. Moore repeated his earlier sentiment that "to acknowledge God cannot be a violation of the Canons of Ethics. Without God there can be no ethics." He also acknowledged that he would repeat his defiance of the court order if given another opportunity to do so, and that if he returned to office, "I certainly wouldn't leave he monumentin a closet, shrouded from the public." In closing arguments, the assistant attorney general said Moore's defiance, left unchecked, "undercuts the entire workings of the judicial system ... What message does that send to the public, to other litigants? The message it sends is: If you don't like a court order, you don't have to follow it." The next day, the COJ issued a unanimous opinion ruling that "Chief Justice Moore has violated the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics as alleged by the JIC in its complaint." The COJ had several disciplinary options, including censure or suspension without pay, but because Moore's responses had indicated he would defy any similar court orders in the future, the COJ concluded that "under these circumstances, there is no penalty short of removal from office that would resolve this issue." Moore appealed the COJ's ruling to the Supreme Court of Alabama on December 10, 2003. A special panel of retired judges and justices was randomly selected to hear the case. Moore argued that the COJ did not consider the underlying legality of the federal courts' order that the monument be removed from the courthouse. The Alabama Supreme Court rejected this argument, saying that the COJ did not have the authority to overrule the federal courts, only to determine whether Moore violated the Canons of Judicial Ethics. Therefore, the Court reasoned, it was enough to show that a procedurally-valid order was in place against Moore. Moore also argued that the COJ had imposed a religious test on him to hold his office, and that the COJ's actions had violated his own rights under the

Free Exercise Clause The Free Exercise Clause accompanies the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The ''Establishment Clause'' and the ''Free Exercise Clause'' together read: Free exercise is the liberty of persons to re ...

of the First Amendment. The Supreme Court of Alabama rejected each of these arguments as well, and ruled on April 30, 2004, that the COJ had acted properly. The court also upheld the sanction of removal as appropriate.

Return to the bench

Moore sought to return to the bench, and in the March 2012 Republican primary for chief justice of Alabama, Moore won the Republican nomination, defeating the sitting Chief Justice Chuck Malone (who had been appointed by Governor Bentley the previous year) and

Mobile County Mobile County ( ) is located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is the second most-populous county in the state after Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its po ...

circuit judge Charles Graddick. In the November 2012 general election, Moore defeated the Democratic nominee, Jefferson County circuit judge Bob Vance, and returned to the bench. Moore received 913,021 votes, to Vance's 850,816 votes.

Views on same-sex marriage

On January 28, 2015, the

filed a judicial ethics complaint against Moore, stating that he had publicly commented on pending same-sex marriage cases and encouraged state officials and judges to ignore federal court rulings overturning bans on same-sex marriage. Moore issued an order to probate judges and their employees on February 8, the day before a federal court ruling legalizing

same-sex marriage in Alabama Same-sex marriage in Alabama has been legal since June 26, 2015, in accordance with the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in ''Obergefell v. Hodges''. Not all counties immediately complied with the ruling, copying behavior from the civil rights era wh ...

was set to take effect, ordering them to disregard the ruling and enforce the state's ban under threat of legal action by the governor. On February 9, after the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

allowed the federal court ruling to take effect, probate judges in Birmingham, Montgomery, and Huntsville disobeyed Moore and issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples. On January 6, 2016, after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in ''

'' the previous June, Moore issued an administrative order to lower court judges stating, "until further decision by the Alabama Supreme Court, the existing orders of the Alabama Supreme Court that Alabama probate judges have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license contrary to the Alabama Sanctity of Marriage Amendment or the Alabama Marriage Protection Act remain in full force and effect."

2016 suspension from the bench and resignation

On May 6, 2016, the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC) forwarded a list of six charges of ethical violations by Moore to the

. Moore was suspended from the Alabama Supreme Court pending trial and ruling. Moore faced removal from office over the charges, which were more serious than those which removed him from office in 2003. The JIC's complaint charged Moore with violating the Alabama Canon of Judicial Ethics by: # disregarding a federal injunction. # demonstrated unwillingness to follow clear law. # abuse of administrative authority. # substituting his judgment for the judgment of the entire Alabama Supreme Court, including failure to abstain from public comment about a pending proceeding in his own court. # interference with legal process and remedies in the United States District Court and/or Alabama Supreme Court related to proceedings in which Alabama probate judges were involved. # failure to recuse himself from pending proceedings in the Alabama Supreme Court after making public comment and placing his impartiality into question. On May 27, Moore filed a federal lawsuit against the JIC (''Moore v. Judicial Inquiry Commission''), alleging that his automatic suspension was unconstitutional. On August 4, the federal district court dismissed Moore's suit, ruling that under the

abstention doctrine An abstention doctrine is any of several doctrines that a United States court may (or in some cases must) apply to refuse to hear a case if hearing the case would potentially intrude upon the powers of another court. Such doctrines are usually invo ...

, federal courts generally do not interfere with ongoing state court proceedings.

Suspension by the Court of the Judiciary

In June 2016, Moore filed a motion to dismiss the JIC proceedings, arguing, among other things, that the JIC and Alabama Court of the Judiciary lacked jurisdiction to review administrative orders that he issued and that the orders of the Alabama Supreme Court were still in effect from the Alabama Policy Institute proceedings prohibiting the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses by probate judges in Alabama, despite the rulings in ''Obergefell v. Hodges'' issued by the

, ''

Searcy v. Strange Same-sex marriage in Alabama has been legal since June 26, 2015, in accordance with the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in ''Obergefell v. Hodges''. Not all counties immediately complied with the ruling, copying behavior from the civil rights era wh ...

'', '' Strawser v. Strange'', and the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which held that the orders were abrogated by ''Obergefell''. The Court of the Judiciary set a hearing date for the motion to dismiss and ruled that it would be treated as a motion for

summary judgment In law, a summary judgment (also judgment as a matter of law or summary disposition) is a judgment entered by a court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes ...

pertaining to the charges filed by the JIC. The

Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...

, an LGBT rights group, responded: "It is clear that Roy Moore not only believes he is above the law, he believes he is above judicial ethics ... Moore was tasked with upholding the law of the land when marriage equality was affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States, and he defied that task, in the process harming loving, committed same-sex couples across Alabama for his own personal, discriminatory reasons." In July 2016, the JIC filed a cross-motion for summary judgment, asking the Court of the Judiciary to issue summary judgment removing Moore from the bench. Attorneys for the JIC wrote: "Because the chief justice has proven—and promised—that he will not change his behavior, he has left this Court with no choice but to remove him from office to preserve the integrity, independence, impartiality of Alabama's judiciary and the citizens who depend on it for justice." In their reply, Moore (through his attorneys at Liberty Counsel) denied that Moore had directed Alabama's probate judges to disobey an injunction issued by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, asserting that the orders of the Alabama Supreme Court, which required Alabama's probate judges to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples, were still in effect. Moore argued that his January 6 administrative order was mischaracterized by the JIC, despite the fact that the January 6 order stated "Until further decision by the Alabama Supreme Court, the existing orders of the Alabama Supreme Court that Alabama probate judges have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license contrary to the Alabama Sanctity of Marriage Amendment or the Alabama Marriage Protection Act remain in full force and effect." At an August 2016 hearing before the Alabama Court of the Judiciary on the motions to dismiss and for summary judgment, Moore's attorneys continued to assert that Moore did not order probate judges to disobey the injunction issued by the U.S. District Court or the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage. The attorney for the JIC responded that Moore's argument "defies common sense" and said that Moore was defying a federal court order, just as he did in 2003, and should be immediately removed from office. The Alabama Court of the Judiciary subsequently denied both Moore's motion and the JIC motion and set a trial date. On September 30, 2016, Moore was found guilty of all six charges and suspended for the remainder of his term, slated to end in 2019. In its 50-page order, the Court of the Judiciary stated it did not find credible Moore's claim that the purpose for the January 6 order was "merely to provide a 'status update' to the state's probate judges". The ruling meant that Moore would not receive a salary paid for the remainder of his term. Moore also was ordered to pay court costs. The ruling effectively ended Moore's Supreme Court career, as he would not be eligible for reelection in 2018 because he will be above the maximum age (in Alabama, candidates for the Court must be 69 years of age or younger).

Appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court and resignation

In October 2016, Moore filed a notice of appeal with the Court of the Judiciary appealing his suspension and the final judgment to the Alabama Supreme Court. Among other claims, Moore contended that neither the JIC nor the COJ had jurisdiction to investigate and punish him for his issuance of the Administrative Order of January 6, 2016; that the six charges against him had not been proven by clear and convincing evidence, and that by "suspending him" without pay for the remainder of his term, the COJ had effectively removed him from office without unanimous agreement of the COJ, as required under Alabama law. Pending the appeal, Moore refused to clean out his office. The Alabama Supreme Court randomly selected seven retired judges to review the appeal of Moore's suspension, Governor Robert Bentley issued an executive order formally appointing the special Supreme Court of these seven retired justices to hear Moore's appeal from the decision of the COJ that suspended him from the bench for the remainder of his term. In December 2016, Moore—represented by the group

Liberty Counsel Liberty Counsel is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt religious liberty organization that engages in litigation related to evangelical Christian values. Liberty Counsel was founded in 1989 by its chairman Mathew Staver and its president Anita L. Staver, who a ...

—filed his appeal brief with the special Alabama Supreme Court. Eight current and retired Alabama judges filed an amicus brief in support of Moore, asserting in their filings that Moore's suspension was, in fact, a removal from office and contrary to Alabama law since it required unanimous agreement of the COJ, despite the fact the COJ did unanimously agree in their final judgment to suspend Moore for the remainder of his term. At Moore's request,

oral argument Oral arguments are spoken presentations to a judge or appellate court by a lawyer (or parties when representing themselves) of the legal reasons why they should prevail. Oral argument at the appellate level accompanies written briefs, which also a ...

was canceled to speed up the proceedings, and the special Supreme Court agreed to rule on the case based on the written submissions of the parties. On April 20, the special Supreme Court upheld Moore's suspension. In its opinion, the special Supreme Court ruled that all of the JIC's charges against Moore were supported by clear and convincing evidence. The Court also ruled that it did not have authority to rescind the sanctions imposed on Moore because the charges were amply supported by clear and convincing evidence, and that the JIC was unanimous in their decision to suspend Moore for the remainder of his term. Six days following the court's ruling, Moore resigned from the Alabama Supreme Court. He then announced he would be running for the United States Senate. About Moore's candidacy, Richard Shelby, Alabama's senior U.S. senator, harbored concerns about him long before sexual misconduct allegations surfaced, including his willingness as a judge to disobey judicial orders, saying, "I disagree with a lot of court decisions ... but still it's the law." In 2022, his defamation lawsuit between him and a woman who accused him of sexual misconduct ended with neither party getting a judgment in its favor.

Foundation for Moral Law

Moore founded the nonprofit Christian legal organization

Foundation for Moral Law The Foundation for Moral Law is a socially conservative, Christian right legal advocacy group based in Montgomery, Alabama. Moore's wife, Kayla, is the president of the Foundation for Moral Law.John Kruzel
Did Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore take $1 million from a charity he ran?
PolitiFact (September 5, 2017). In 2005, Moore's Foundation for Moral Law accepted a $1,000 contribution from a neo-Nazi organization founded by

Willis Carto Willis Allison Carto (July 17, 1926 – October 26, 2015) was an American far-right political activist. He described himself as a Jeffersonian and a populist, but was primarily known for his promotion of antisemitic conspiracy theories and ...

, a prominent

Holocaust denier Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: * ...

. The donation attracted attention during Moore's 2017 campaign for a Senate seat.

Undisclosed salary payment controversy

Moore stated that he did not draw a "regular salary" from the organization. In October 2017, however, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' reported that Moore had arranged an annual salary of $180,000 for himself from the foundation. From 2007 to 2012, he collected more than $1 million, an amount far surpassing the nonprofit's declarations in its public tax filings, because of what the ''Post'' called "errors and gaps in the group's federal tax filings". ''The Washington Post'' reported that Moore arranged the salary and that, in 2012 when the charity could not pay his full salary, Moore received a note promising that he would get the salary in back pay or a stake in the assets of the foundation. The foundation paid for Moore's health-care benefits, travel expenses, and bodyguard, and the foundation's website has regularly promoted Moore's speaking arrangements and book. It employed at least two of Moore's children and Moore's wife. She was paid $65,000 annually after he again took his seat on the Alabama Supreme Court. ''The Washington Post'' also said that there was considerable overlap between the charity and Moore's political activities, with previous top officials of the charity leading Moore's 2017 Senate campaign and with the charity using the same fundraising firm as Moore's campaigns. The foundation's former chair, Alabama circuit court judge John Bentley, denied that the board did anything wrong intentionally, but was unable to explain shortcomings in tax filings and audits. He admitted that the board failed to provide sufficient oversight and that he personally had been less involved than his position required. He acknowledged the foundation was effectively run entirely by Moore and his family. The

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...

(IRS) warned the foundation about discrepancies in its tax filings in 2013, saying that the issues "could jeopardize your exempt status". Multiple charity and tax law experts have said that the foundation's activities "raised questions about compliance with IRS rules, including prohibitions on the use of a charity for the private benefit or enrichment of an individual". Additional reporting by ''The Washington Post'' that October found the $498,000 Moore was guaranteed in back pay was not declared to the IRS; tax experts say that it should have been and that Moore would have had to pay more than $100,000 in federal tax.

Election issues and campaigns

2004

Moore considered running for the nomination of the Republican Party and the Constitution Party in the 2004 presidential election. Despite encouragement from several corners, Moore did not pursue the nomination. In 2004, along with Herb Titus, Moore was an original drafter of the Constitution Restoration Act, which sought to remove federal courts' jurisdiction over a government official or entity's "acknowledgment of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government", and provided for the

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

of judges who failed to do so. The bill was introduced in both houses of Congress in 2004 and then reintroduced in 2005, but languished in committee both times.

2006

In October 2005, Moore announced that he would run against Governor

Bob Riley Robert Renfroe Riley (born October 3, 1944) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 52nd governor of Alabama from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he previously represented Alabama's 3rd district in the U. ...

in the 2006 Republican gubernatorial primary. Gina Pace
Alabama Judge Running For Governor
, Associated Press (October 3, 2005). Moore's campaign relied largely on his popularity among

Christian right The Christian right, or the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with t ...

voters. Mary Murray
The rise and fall of Judge Roy Moore: Controversial Ten Commandments judge polling poorly in governor race
, NBC News (May 23, 2006). However, Moore consistently performed poorly in polling and in fundraising. In the June 2006 primary, Riley won the primary, 306,665 (66.6 percent) to 153,354 (33.34 percent). Following such a major defeat, Moore accused Alabama Republican Party chair Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh of bias towards Riley and called on her to resign; he also criticized President Bush for praising Riley's administration. His criticism of the state Republican Party was so harsh that he eventually had to call a press conference to quell rumors that he would run as an independent if he lost the Republican primary. In his concession speech, Moore told supporters that "God's will has been done." Moore did not call Riley to concede and refused to support Riley in the general election because of Riley's acceptance of campaign contributions from political action committees.

2010

In 2009, Moore launched another campaign for governor of Alabama in 2010 election. In the first round of the June 2010 Republican primary election, Moore came in fourth place with 19.31% of the vote, behind Bradley Byrne (27.89%), Robert J. Bentley (25.15%), and Tim James (25.12%).

2012

On April 18, 2011, Moore announced that he was forming an

exploratory committee In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to candidates for pre ...

to run in the Republican presidential primaries in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

. When that campaign failed to gain traction, he began to draw speculation in the media as being a potential Constitution Party presidential contender. In November 2011, Moore withdrew his exploratory committee and ended all speculation of a presidential candidacy when he instead announced that he would in 2012 seek his former post of chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. On November 6, 2012, Moore won election back to the office of Alabama chief justice, defeating replacement Democratic candidate Bob Vance.

2017

On April 26, 2017, Moore, who had been suspended from the Alabama Supreme Court since September 2016, stated that he had submitted retirement papers and would resign as chief justice in order to run for the U.S. Senate seat vacated earlier by

, who left the Senate to become

U.S. attorney general The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

. Governor Robert J. Bentley appointed

Luther Strange Luther Johnson Strange III (born March 1, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Alabama from 2017 to 2018. He was appointed to fill that position after it was vacated by Sen. Jeff Sessions upon Ses ...

to fill the vacancy, and Strange also sought the Republican nomination in the special election.

Republican U.S. Senate primary

On August 15, 2017, Moore and Strange advanced to the primary runoff after Moore finished first with 38.87% of the vote to Strange's 32.83%. President

reluctantly supported Moore's opponent Strange during the primary, dispensing with traditional presidential caution in becoming involved with contested primaries, Martin, Jonathan and Burns, Alexander.
“Roy Moore Wins Senate G.O.P. Runoff in Alabama”
, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' (September 26, 2017): "the president pleaded with voters in the state to back Mr. Strange. ..., cast ngaside the tradition of presidents treading carefully in contested primaries, as well as the warnings from his own advisers regarding a candidate trailing in the polls. and almost the whole national Republican establishment wanted Strange to win. Rogin, Ali.
“Roy Moore defeats Trump-backed Sen. Luther Strange in Alabama GOP primary runoff”
,

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

(September 26, 2017). Scherer, Michael.
“Moore wins Republican Senate primary, dealing blow to GOP establishment”
, ''

'' (September 27, 2017): "He also won despite a last-minute push by Trump for Strange that included a barrage of late tweets and a rally Friday in Alabama." Trump's efforts on behalf of Strange included a series of tweets, and a rally in Alabama, where he admitted that he "might have made a mistake" in his endorsement of Strange and emphasized repeatedly that he would support Moore if he won, but still urged voters to vote for Strange. Moore was outspent in the runoff by a margin of 10-to-1, thanks in part to the efforts of Senate majority leader

Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader since 2021. Currently in his seventh term, McConne ...

. On September 26, 2017, Moore defeated Strange in the Republican primary runoff election to become the Republican nominee. This marked the first time since 2010 that an insurgent defeated an incumbent U.S. Senator having active White House support. The percentages were 54.6% for Moore, to 45.4% for Strange.

U.S. Senate special election campaign

Moore faced Democratic nominee Doug Jones, a former

United States attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

, and several write-in candidates in a special election on December 12, 2017.

David Weigel David Weigel (born September 26, 1981) is an American journalist. He works for ''Semafor''. Weigel previously covered politics for ''The Washington Post,'' ''Slate,'' and ''Bloomberg Politics'' and is a contributing editor for ''Reason'' magaz ...

Who is Doug Jones, and can he defeat Roy Moore in conservative Alabama?
, ''The Washington Post'' (September 27, 2017). Moore turned down debate invitations extended by the League of Women Voters Tim Lockette
Moore won't participate in Senate debate, organizers say
, ''Anniston Star'' (November 7, 2017). and

WHNT-TV WHNT-TV (channel 19) is a television station in Huntsville, Alabama, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Florence-licensed CW owned-and-operated station WHDF (channel 15). Both stations share studios ...

and AL.com. David Kumbroch
Roy Moore won't debate Doug Jones; campaign declines WHNT News 19 invitation
, WHNT (November 8, 2017).
, AL.com (November 8, 2017). Moore said that he refused to debate Jones because of Jones's "very liberal stance on transgenderism and transgenderism in the military and in bathrooms". In early November, when sexual misconduct allegations against Moore were reported, many Republicans at the national level called for Moore to drop out of the race or withdrew their endorsements of him. At the time of the revelations, it was too close to the election for Moore's name to be removed from the ballot. Senate Majority Leader

and House Speaker Paul Ryan said he should step aside, as did U.S. Senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

and former U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Other senators withdrew their endorsements of Moore's Senate candidacy. President Donald Trump initially said Moore should step aside if the charges were true, but otherwise expressed support for Moore. Trump later formally endorsed Moore. Alabama Republicans largely defended Moore from the accusations; an exception was Richard Shelby, the state's U.S. senator since 1987, who said two days before the election the accusations against Moore were "believable" and that "Alabama deserves better." He said he wrote in the name of another Republican on his absentee ballot. The Republican National Committee (RNC) and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) temporarily withdrew funding from his campaign. A week before the election, Trump strongly endorsed Moore. Following Trump's endorsement, the RNC reinstated their support for him, and McConnell said he would "let the people of Alabama decide" whether to elect Moore. Just four days before the election, Trump appeared at a rally in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

, near the border of Alabama, and again endorsed Moore. During a campaign speech in Florence, Alabama, in 2017, Moore decried racial divisions plaguing the United States, stating: "Now we have blacks and whites fighting, reds and yellows fighting, Democrats and Republicans fighting, men and women fighting. What's going to unite us? What's going to bring us back together? A president? A Congress? No. It's going to be God." Moore's reference to "reds" and "yellows" was criticized as racially insensitive. Moore's campaign responded, stating that his statement was based on the religious song "

Jesus Loves the Little Children A Christian child's prayer is Christian prayer recited primarily by children that is typically short, rhyming, or has a memorable tune. It is usually said before bedtime, to give thanks for a meal, or as a nursery rhyme. Many of these prayers ...

". In the same speech, when a spectator asked when Moore thought America was last great, Moore responded: "I think it was great at the time when families were united. Even though we had slavery, they cared for one another. ... Our families were strong, our country had a direction." In the December 12 election, Moore lost to Jones, who received 671,151 votes (49.9%) to Moore's 650,436 votes (48.4%). Moore refused to concede despite Trump, Bannon, and others urging him to do so. He told his followers in a YouTube video posted to his campaign account that "it's not over." He added that he wanted to wait for military votes to be counted and the results to be certified. A number of right-leaning websites pushed conspiracy theories about voter fraud providing the margin for Jones.

Alabama secretary of state The secretary of state of Alabama is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Alabama. The office actually predates the statehood of Alabama, dating back to the Alabama Territory. From 1819 to 1901, the secretary of state served ...

John Merrill told ''

'' that the result would be certified on December 28, 2017. If the final margin of victory had been less than 0.5%, then a recount would have been automatically triggered. In cases where the margin is greater than 0.5 percent, either candidate can request a recount at his or her expense. However, Merrill estimated that a recount could cost anywhere from $1 million to $1.5 million, an amount that must be paid in full when the request is made. Moore had only $636,046 on hand by the time the campaign ended. On December 28, Merrill and Alabama governor Kay Ivey certified the results of the senatorial election despite a last-minute lawsuit from the Moore campaign (rejected by a state judge) seeking a new election on the grounds of voter fraud. He became the first Republican to lose a statewide race in Alabama since Republican Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh lost the 2008 president of the Alabama Public Service Commission election to Democratic former lieutenant governor

Lucy Baxley Lucy Mae Bruner Baxley Smith (December 21, 1937 – October 14, 2016) was an American politician who served from 2003 to 2007 as the List of Lieutenant Governors of Alabama, 28th lieutenant governor of Alabama and from 2009 until 2013 as President ...

. Moore was the first Republican to lose a United States Senate election in Alabama since Richard Sellers in 1992. Jones became the first Democrat to gain a Senate seat since Richard Shelby defeated incumbent Republican

Jeremiah Denton Jeremiah Andrew Denton Jr. (July 15, 1924 – March 28, 2014) was an American politician and military officer who served as a U.S. Senator representing Alabama from 1981 to 1987. He was the first Republican to be popularly elected to a Sen ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

in a similarly narrow election, though Shelby joined the Republican Party eight years later. Jones also became the first Democrat to represent Alabama in the United States Senate since

Howell Heflin Howell Thomas Heflin (June 19, 1921 – March 29, 2005) was an American lawyer and politician who served in the United States Senate, representing Alabama, from 1979 to 1997. Early life Heflin was born on June 19, 1921, in Poulan, Georgia. He at ...

's retirement in 1997. In April 2018, Moore filed a lawsuit in

alleging "there was a political conspiracy against him in the 2017 special election". The former was filed against sexual misconduct accusers that came to prominence during the election.

2020

Moore announced on June 20, 2019, that he would challenge Doug Jones once again for his Senate seat in the 2020 election. He failed to earn the Republican party nomination, receiving only 7.16% of the vote in the primary election.

Political positions

According to ''

Business Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...

'', Moore has a "history of far-right and conspiracy-aligned positions" on issues such as homosexuality, race, Islam, and terrorism. According to

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

, Moore's "virulent anti-gay, right-wing views made him a national figure". According to ''The New York Times'', Moore "is a staunch evangelical Christian, and his often-inflammatory political beliefs are informed by his strongly held religious views". Moore has been considered a "rising star of the

alt-right The alt-right, an abbreviation of alternative right, is a far-right, white nationalist movement. A largely online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late 2000s before increasing in popularity during the mid-2 ...

movement" by ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...

'' and an "alt-right hero" by ''

''.

Abortion

Moore is strongly anti-abortion. In a 2014 Supreme Court ruling, he said that laws should protect life "from the moment of conception". He seeks to defund Planned Parenthood.

American exceptionalism

Moore has been skeptical of modern

American exceptionalism American exceptionalism is the belief that the United States is inherently different from other nations. Peggy Noonan, an American political pundit, wrote in ''The Wall Street Journal'' that "America is not exceptional because it has long att ...

, saying that "America promotes a lot of bad things." Moore argued that the United States is an " Evil Empire" comparable to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, saying that America is "the focus of evil in the modern world". When asked for a clarification, Moore gave an example of America culturally exporting acceptance of homosexuality around the world.

"Birther" movement and other conspiracy theories

Moore was a leading proponent of the

, the debunked conspiracy theory postulating that Barack Obama is not a U.S. citizen. He repeatedly promoted the conspiracy theory from 2008 and through to at least December 2016. Asked if he still questioned Obama's citizenship in August 2017, the Moore campaign declined to answer questions from the media. As chief justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama, he opined that Alabama's secretary of state should "investigate the qualifications of those candidates who appeared on the 2012 general-election ballot". In 2011, Moore appeared twice on the ''Aroostook Watchmen'' radio program, a conspiracy-theory show hosted by two

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

men who promote "birther" falsehoods as well as "

false flag A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misr ...

" conspiracy theories about the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

, the

Sandy Hook massacre The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people. Twenty of the victims were children between six and seven years old, and t ...

Boston bombing The Boston Marathon bombing was a Domestic terrorism in the United States, domestic terrorist attack that took place during the annual Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Two terrorists, brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, plante ...

, and other mass shootings and terrorist attacks. Andrew Kaczynski
"Roy Moore in 2011: Getting rid of amendments after 10th would 'eliminate many problems
, CNN (December 10, 2017). Moore has also suggested, without providing any evidence, that former president Barack Obama is secretly a Muslim.

Church and state

Because of his focus on religion in politics, he has earned the nickname of 'Ayatollah of Alabama' among his critics. In a January 2014 speech in Mississippi, Moore said that the Framers of the Declaration of Independence and the Founding Fathers attributed our rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" as coming from a specific God, stating "Buddha didn't create us, Mohammed didn't create us, it was the God of the Holy Scriptures." The speech prompted criticism because it appeared to suggest that non-Christians did not enjoy religious protections under the

. In a subsequent interview, Moore said that the First Amendment protects all faiths: "It applies to the rights God gave us to be free in our modes of thinking, and as far as religious liberty to all people, regardless of what they believe."

Civil rights

Moore was a strong opponent of a proposed amendment to the

Alabama Constitution The Constitution of the State of Alabama is the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Alabama. It was adopted in 2022 and is Alabama's seventh constitution. History Alabama has had seven constitutions to date, all but the current one est ...

in 2004. Known as Amendment 2, the proposed legislation would have removed wording from the state constitution that referred to

poll taxes A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments f ...

and required separate schools for "white and colored children", a practice already outlawed due to civil rights-era legislation during the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

. Moore and other opponents of the measure argued that the amendment's wording would have allowed federal judges to force the state to fund public school improvements with increased taxes. Voters in Alabama narrowly defeated the proposed amendment, with a margin of 1,850 votes out of 1.38 million cast. Moore's opposition has been cited as a reason for the failure of the referendum. In 2011, Moore said on ''Aroostook Watchmen'', a right-wing conspiracy radio show that getting rid of all the constitutional amendments after the Tenth Amendment would "eliminate many problems". Amendments adopted after the Tenth Amendment include the Thirteenth Amendment (which abolished slavery); the Fifteenth Amendment (which barred the government from denying persons the right to vote based on the "race, color, or previous condition of servitude"); and the Nineteenth Amendment (which guaranteed

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

). In the same appearance, when asked about the

Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. Often considered as one of the most consequential amendments, it addresses citizenship rights and ...

(which provides for equal protection of the laws), Moore said that he has "very serious problems with its approval by the states". During his 2017 campaign, when asked about these statements, a spokesman for Moore said that he did not favor repeal of these amendments but was merely expressing concern over "the historical trend since the ratification of the Bill of Rights" of "federal empowerment over state empowerment". In a November 2017 speech at a revival in Jackson, Roy Moore stated that "they started ocreate new rights in 1965, and today we've got a problem" in an apparent reference to the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movement ...

Confederacy

Neo-Confederate Neo-Confederates are groups and individuals who portray the Confederate States of America and its actions during the American Civil War in a positive light. The League of the South, the Sons of Confederate Veterans and other neo-Confederate org ...

groups held events at the Foundation for Moral Law, a foundation led by Moore, in 2009 and 2010. The events "promoted a history of the Civil War sympathetic to the Confederate cause, in which the conflict is presented as one fought over the federal government violating the South's sovereignty as opposed to one fought chiefly over the preservation of slavery". The foundation's then-executive director, Rich Hobson, now Moore's campaign manager, claimed in 2010 that Moore was unaware of these events and that it was Hobson who approved them.

Education

In 2007, Moore opposed

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school ...

, claiming that attendees are "much more likely to learn a liberal social and political philosophy" and that state involvement in early childhood education is characteristic of

totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and reg ...

Evolution

Moore rejects the

theory of evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variatio ...

, saying "There is no such thing as evolution. That we came from a snake? No, I don't believe that." In 2010, Moore ran

attack ads Attack may refer to: Warfare and combat * Offensive (military) * Charge (warfare) * Attack (fencing) * Strike (attack) * Attack (computing) * Attack aircraft Books and publishing * ''The Attack'' (novel), a book * ''Attack No. 1'', comic and ...

in the Republican gubernatorial primary against his opponent Bradley Byrne, questioning Byrne's faith on the grounds that he had supported the teaching of evolution while on a local school board. (In response, Byrne ran ads claiming to be a

creationist Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' says that creationism is 'th ...

Free speech

In an October 2017 interview with ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'', Moore said regarding NFL players who protested police violence by kneeling during the playing of the national anthem: "It's against the law, you know that? It was a 'sic''act of Congress that every man stand and put their hand over their heart. That's the law." This assertion is incorrect assuming Moore was calling for enforcement; for civilians, the

United States Flag Code The United States Flag Code establishes advisory rules for display and care of the national flag of the United States of America. It is Chapter 5 of Title 4 of the United States Code ( ''et seq''). Although this is a U.S. federal law, the code ...

, which outlines proper conduct when the national anthem is played, is an advisory description of proper etiquette, not an enforceable law. The US Flag Code does not reference standing for the national anthem.

Trade

When asked whether he approved of

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econ ...

, Moore stated that he supported

protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

. Moore has suggested pulling out of various free trade agreements, saying that he would rescind "unfair free trade agreements which have severely damaged our economy".

Immigration

In July 2017, Moore stated that he was unfamiliar with what the Dreamer program was. Later, in September 2017, Moore criticized

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, colloquially referred to as DACA, is a United States immigration policy that allows some individuals with unlawful presence in the United States after being brought to the country as children to receive ...

(DACA), which grants temporary stay to unauthorized immigrants brought to the United States as children.

Views on LGBT people

Moore has been described as holding "virulently anti-gay" beliefs. Moore is supportive of laws to make homosexuality illegal, and has argued that same-sex parents are unfit to raise children, that openly gay individuals should not be allowed to serve in government, and that the legitimization of various forms of "sodomy" may cause suffering in the United States. He believes that homosexuality goes against "

the laws of nature ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

" and stated it is comparable to bestiality. In 1996, while presiding over a divorce case, Moore ruled that a mother who had had a lesbian affair would lose custody of her children to the father and that she could not be allowed see her children unless she was supervised. Moore wrote in his ruling, "The court strongly feels that the minor children will be detrimentally affected by the present lifestyle of rs. Bordenwho has engaged in a homosexual relationship during her marriage, forbidden both by the laws of the State of Alabama and the Laws of Nature." The Court of Civil Appeals removed Moore from the case, a decision that was later affirmed by the Alabama Supreme Court. In February 2002, as Alabama Chief Justice, Moore issued a controversial opinion that expressed his belief that the state should use its powers to punish "homosexual behavior". The case, ''D.H. v. H.H.'', was a custody dispute where a

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

was petitioning for custody of her children, alleging abuse by her ex-husband. A circuit court in Alabama had ruled in favor of the father, but the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals overturned that verdict 4–1, saying that substantial evidence existed of abusive behavior by the father. In a

concurring opinion In law, a concurring opinion is in certain legal systems a written opinion by one or more judges of a court which agrees with the decision made by the majority of the court, but states different (or additional) reasons as the basis for their deci ...

in the case, Moore stated that a parent's homosexuality should be a deciding factor in determining which parent gets custody over children: "Homosexual behavior is a ground for

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

, an act of sexual misconduct punishable as a crime in Alabama, a crime against nature, an inherent evil, and an act so heinous that it defies one's ability to describe it. That is enough under the law to allow a court to consider such activity harmful to a child." In 2016, Moore was suspended from the Alabama Supreme Court for instructing state probate judges to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples, in contravention of ''

'', in which the U.S. Supreme Court determined that

same-sex couples A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries ...

have a constitutional right to marry. In 2017, Moore called for impeaching judges who have issued rulings supportive of homosexuality and same-sex marriage. In November 2016, Moore argued that the ''Obergefell'' ruling was worse than the 1857 ''

Dred Scott v. Sandford ''Dred Scott v. Sandford'', 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1857), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that held the U.S. Constitution did not extend American citizenship to people of black African descent, enslaved or free; th ...

'' ruling (which declared that African-Americans, whether enslaved or free, were property and could not be American citizens). The ''Dred Scott'' ruling is widely considered as the worst Supreme Court ruling. In November 2017, Moore said that

people "don't have rights".

Divine retribution

In August 2017, Moore suggested that the

were a punishment by God for Americans' declining religiosity. Moore has also suggested that the

Sandy Hook shooting The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people. Twenty of the victims were children between six and seven years old, and th ...

, which killed 28 people (including 20 children), was "because we've forgotten the law of God". Moore has also said that suffering in the United States may be because "we legitimize sodomy" and "legitimize abortion". ''The Washington Post'' commented that "among the prices

oore Oore is a village in Tori Parish, Pärnu County in southwestern Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Fin ...

says this country has paid for denying God's supremacy: the high murder rate in Chicago, crime on the streets of Washington, child abuse, rape and sodomy."

Opposition to Islam

Moore has called for banning Muslims from serving in Congress, described Islam as a "false religion" and made unsubstantiated claims about

Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

law in the United States. When asked by a reporter where in the United States that Sharia law was being practiced, Moore said "Well, there's Sharia law, as I understand it, in Illinois, Indiana—up there. I don't know." Asked if it was not an amazing claim for a Senate candidate to make, Moore said "Well, let me just put it this way—if they are, they are; if they're not, they're not." In 2006, Moore wrote that Keith Ellison of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, the first Muslim to have been elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, should be barred from sitting in Congress because in his view, a Muslim could not honestly take the oath of office. Moore said that the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

did not allow for religions other than Islam to exist, and added, "common sense alone dictates that in the midst of a war with Islamic terrorists we should not place someone in a position of great power who shares their doctrine."

Vladimir Putin and Russia interference

Moore has praised

Russian president The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

, stating that he is maybe "more akin to me than I know". When asked whether he believed that Russia interfered in the 2016 United States elections, Moore stated, "Everybody else thinks it's the Russians. I think it was the providential hand of God."

Sexual misconduct allegations

In November 2017, during Moore's U.S. Senate campaign, nine women accused him of inappropriate sexual or social conduct. Three of the women said they had been sexually assaulted by Moore when they were aged 14, 16, and 28. The other six described him pursuing a romantic relationship with them while he was in his 30s and they were as young as 16, but said there had not been any inappropriate sexual contact. Moore denied the sexual assault allegations, but did not dispute that he had approached or dated teenagers over the age of 16 (the age of consent in Alabama). Independent witnesses confirmed that Moore had a reputation for approaching teenage girls, often at a local mall, and asking them out. Moore has offered contradictory responses on whether he knew his accusers. He had said on November 10 that he did "recognize" the maiden names of Debbie Wesson Gibson and Gloria Thacker Deason (Both Gibson and Deason had alleged that Moore had dated them when they were 17–18) and remembered each "as a good girl". Regarding if he had dated Gibson, Moore said "I can't recall the specific dates because that's been 40 years." On November 27 and November 29, Moore took a different stance, repeatedly stating "I do not know any of these women" while also saying that "pictures of young children – whose names are not mentioned and I do not know – appear conveniently on the opposition's ads ... These allegations are completely false." Following the allegations, Moore appeared as a guest on

Sacha Baron Cohen Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971) is an English actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral ...

's 2018 comedy series '' Who Is America?'' in which Baron Cohen, disguised as Israeli anti-terrorism expert Erran Morad, demonstrates new "technology", supposedly developed by the Israeli Army to identify pedophiles. Moore walked out of the interview after the device repeatedly indicated he was a pedophile. In September 2018, Moore filed a lawsuit against Baron Cohen, Showtime, and CBS Corporation seeking $95 million in damages for alleged fraud, defamation, and emotional distress. The lawsuit was filed in the

United States District Court for the District of Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a federal district court in the District of Columbia. It also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States District Court for the District of ...

and argued that the consent agreement signed by Moore was "obtained through fraud" and was therefore "void and inoperative." In October 2018, Showtime moved for a change of venue to the

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York State. Two of these are in New York City: New ...

. Despite the consent agreement specifying that any disputes be dealt with in a New York court, Moore's legal team opposed the change in venue, describing the move as "purely tactical, as they clearly perceive New York to a more favorable forum, where they will more than likely find a favorable left-leaning, pro-entertainment industry judge." Moore's legal team also contended that he had been "fraudulently induced" to appear on the show by two primary misrepresentations: Firstly, that Moore was under the impression that he was being flown to Washington D.C. to receive an award for his support of Israel; and, secondly, that he was told that the segment was being produced by an Israeli production company named Yerushalayim TV. In July 2021, Moore's lawsuit was dismissed by Southern District of New York Judge John Cronan, who wrote that "Moore's claims are barred by the unambiguous contractual language, which precludes the very causes of action he now brings." This decision was upheld in July 2022, with the

appeals court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

writing in its unsigned summary order that "Baron Cohen may have implied (despite his in character disclaimers of any belief that Judge Moore was a pedophile) that he believed Judge Moore's accusers, but he did not imply the existence of any independent factual basis for that belief besides the obviously farcical pedophile detecting 'device,' which no reasonable person could believe to be an actual, functioning piece of technology." Responding to the judgement, Moore told the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

that Baron Cohen's "pusillanimous and fraudulent conduct must be stopped," and that he will be making a further appeal. In August 2022, Moore was awarded $8.2 million in a defamation lawsuit against a Democratic-aligned super PAC over their use of the allegations in advertisements.

Personal life

Marriage and children

Moore first saw his future wife, Kayla Kisor, when she was in her mid-teens performing at a dance recital. Moore was 31 at the time. In his 2005 autobiography, Moore described his reaction, writing: "I knew Kayla was going to be a special person in my life." In 1984, Moore and Kayla Kisor Heald met again at a Christmas party, but she was then a married mother. She filed for divorce from her first husband on December 28, 1984, and was divorced on April 19, 1985. Roy Moore married Kayla on December 14, 1985. He was 38; she was 24. They have four adult children.

Columnist

Moore wrote weekly columns for the far-right website

WorldNetDaily ''WND'' (formerly ''WorldNetDaily'') is an American far-right fake news website. It is known for promoting falsehoods and conspiracy theories, including the false claim that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States. Th ...

from 2006 to 2009.

Electoral history

;2000 Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court election ; 2006 Alabama gubernatorial election ; 2010 Alabama gubernatorial election ;2012 Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court election ; 2017 United States Senate special election in Alabama ; 2020 United States Senate election in Alabama

Notes

References

External links

Judge Roy Moore for Senate
Campaign website.
Foundation For Moral Law
legal organization chaired by Moore. *
The Ten Commandments Case
– archive of ''Montgomery Advertiser'' stories related to Roy Moore. * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Roy 1947 births Living people 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges 21st-century American politicians Alabama Democrats Alabama lawyers Alabama politicians convicted of crimes Alabama Republicans United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War American conspiracy theorists American evangelicals American expatriates in Australia American male non-fiction writers American military police officers American political commentators American political writers Baptists from Alabama Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Alabama Child sexual abuse in the United States Christian conspiracy theorists American Christian creationists Christian fundamentalists Christian critics of Islam Discrimination against LGBT people in the United States Dominion theology Far-right politicians in the United States Military personnel from Alabama American critics of Islam Politicians from Gadsden, Alabama Right-wing populism in the United States Southern Baptists Tea Party movement activists United States Army officers United States Military Academy alumni University of Alabama School of Law alumni Candidates in the 2020 United States Senate elections