On Friday, March 31, 2017, Judge David Hale of Louisville ruled that a lawsuit filed against trump's campaign, a few of his supporters, and the president himself has the green light to proceed, an Associated Press report states. Reports say that the judge did not accept Trump's 'free speech' defense claim against the suit, which alleges that he incited violence against certain protestors at a campaign rally in Kentucky in March of last year. Trump's lawyers argued that the president didn't actually intend for those at the rally to use physical force, but Hale says he's found "ample facts" backing claims that the injuries sustained by the three protestors were a direct result of Trump's 'get em out of here' declaration to the crowd.
Hale also notes that per a Supreme Court ruling, there are no constitutional protections for speech that attempts to incite violence.
Involved parties unsuccessfully tried to distance themselves from the claims
Henry Brousseau, Kashiya Nwanguma, and Molly Shah, the plaintiffs in the suit, all claim that they were both punched and shoved by various rally-goers, including white nationalist Matthew Heimbach and 75-year-old Korean War veteran Alvin Bamberger. Bamberger has since apologized on record to the Korean War Veteran's Association, sources say. He claims that he only pushed a woman down the aisle toward the exit after "Trump kept saying 'get them out.'" Heimbach, a fairly recent graduate of Towson University, founder of the new white nationalist organization "Traditionalist Youth Network," and a leader of the neo-Confederate hate group "League of the South" ironically attempted to dismiss the lawsuit's inclusion of his association with white nationalists.
Hale denied the attempt, noting that the information could play an important role in deciding the severity of possible punitive damages. A subsequent attempt to remove claims in the lawsuit that one of the plaintiffs was the victim of several "repulsive" racial, sexist, and ethnic slurs was also denied by Hale. He contended that the words and phrases are relevant to illustrate the atmosphere of the events that allegedly took place.
Trump's attorneys claim he wasn't responsible
Trump's lawyers also tried to distance the president from the plaintiffs, arguing that his campaign could not be held liable for what happened to them, as Trump had no duty to protect the protestors. His attorneys also mentioned that the plaintiffs entered the rally at their own risk.
Judge Hale quickly reminded them, however, that everyone has a duty to every other person to use care to prevent possible injury, as mandated by the law.
The case will proceed under federal magistrate Judge H. Brent Brennenstuhl.
