SOTU Ticket Provider Says He Didn't Know It Was for Kim Davis

When news broke Monday night that Kentucky clerk Kim Davis would be attending the State of the Union, one question remained.

Who invited her?

Davis, who spent five days in jail last summer after refusing to issue marriage licenses, including to same-sex couples, attended President Obama’s last State of the Union address Tuesday night with her attorney, using gallery tickets provided by the Family Research Council.

But Davis’ attorney, Mat Staver, and the Family Research Council wouldn’t say which members of Congress shared their gallery tickets with the conservative group.

For much of Tuesday, it wasn’t clear whose ticket Davis was using, with many Capitol Hill staffers unsure which of Congress’ 534 sitting members invited the controversial Rowan County clerk.

Late Tuesday night, ahead of the president’s address, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the leader of the House Freedom Caucus, came forward, saying that his office had provided Davis’ ticket to the Family Research Council and Davis.

The Huffington Post reported that the Ohio Republican did not know that his ticket went to Davis until after her announcement, and initially knew only that it was going to the Family Research Council.

“Our staff heard from the Family Research Council that Ms. Davis and her family hoped to attend the State of the Union address and so we offered a ticket,” Jordan told ABC News in a statement later on Tuesday.

Davis defied multiple federal court orders last summer to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples following the Supreme Court’s decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide. She was hailed by many conservatives -- including Republican presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, for her position.

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