An Atlanta-area judge on Thursday upheld criminal charges against former President Donald Trump in Georgia, rejecting the argument that Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election were protected by the First Amendment.
“The defense has not presented, nor has the Court been able to find, any authority that the alleged speech and conduct is protected political speech,” Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee wrote in his order.
McAfee's decision is the latest step in advancing the state extortion case against Trump. But although Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has suggested she would be ready to go to trial as early as August, the judge has not yet set a trial date for Trump or his remaining 14 co-defendants in the state.
McAfee's refusal to dismiss the indictment comes at a time when the defense of free speech has repeatedly failed in pre-trial disputes in election interference cases.
“After interpreting the language of the indictment liberally in favor of the State, as required at this pre-trial stage, the Court finds that the Defendants' expressions and speeches are allegedly made to promote criminal activity and constitute false statements knowingly and intentionally made in matters within the jurisdiction of a government agency that threatens to deceive and harm the government,” McAfee wrote in his order issued Thursday.
McAfee previously rejected similar First Amendment challenges from other defendants in the Georgia case. In the federal election interference case, Judge Tanya Chutkan also heard — and rejected — the argument that Trump's actions should be considered protected political speech.
The Fulton County district attorney's office declined to comment on McAfee's Thursday order.
Trump's Georgia lawyer, Steve Sadow, said in a statement that Trump and other defendants “respectfully disagree” with the decision and will explore their options.
“It is significant that the court's ruling made clear that defendants were not precluded from re-raising their 'disputes as applied at the appropriate time after the establishment of a factual record,'” Sadow's statement read.
At a hearing on the First Amendment issue last month, Sadow argued that Trump's attempts to change the election results in Georgia were “central political speech.”
“What do we have here?” Sadow asked. “We have an electoral speech, which is 'protected' from government restrictions.”
Donald Wakeford, Fulton County prosecutor, said First Amendment arguments should be heard by a jury rather than decided in pretrial motions. He also insisted that Trump was charged because his election lies were “employed as part of criminal activity with criminal intent.”
Source: CNN Brasil

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