Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis told a reporter on Tuesday that she made the trip from Rowan County to Capitol Hill for President Obama's State of the Union address to provide "encouragement" to "all Christians."
Briefly jailed last September after she refused on religious grounds to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Davis, a born-again Christian, told AFP's Ivan Couronne her message was aimed at Christians "who want to stay and make a difference."
An aide to Rep. Jim Jordan revealed late Tuesday that the Ohio Republican's office had extended an initially mysterious invitation to the controversial clerk.
"Kim Davis used our ticket," a Jordan spokesman said. "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."