Rejecting the claim that former President Donald Trump‘s speech in furtherance of overturning the 2020 presidential election results was protected by the First Amendment, Georgia Judge Scott McAfee wrote that the court was “unable to find” any evidence that the “speech and conduct alleged is protected political speech.”
McAfee dropped a one paragraph truth bomb on the defense, especially notable for its assertion that the court was “interpreting the indictment’s language liberally in favor of the State” because that is what is “required at this pretrial stage.”
The allegations that the speech in question was made in “furtherance of criminal activity,” McAfee finds, are credibly made. (NOTE: This does not indicate the judge finds them to be accurate — or inaccurate — which is a matter for a jury.)
No surprises. Judge McAfee rules against Trump’s motion to dismiss the Fulton County case on 1st Amendment grounds. Speech isn’t protected when it’s in furtherance of a crime, like saying “stick ’em up” during a bank robbery. https://t.co/sl1KXvZn7S
— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) April 4, 2024
“After interpreting the indictment’s language liberally in favor of the State as required at this pretrial stage, the Court finds that the Defendants’ expressions and speech are alleged to have been made in furtherance of criminal activity and constitute false statements knowingly and willfully made in matters within a government agency’s jurisdiction which threaten to deceive and harm the government.”
Judge Scott McAfee
Other judges, including Tanya Chutkan in the federal election subversion case against Trump, have also rejected the “free speech” or “protected speech” defense.
McAfee, it is worth noting in the current highly-charged and polarized political environment, was appointed by Republican Governor Brian Kemp. Kemp said in 2021 when appointing McAfee as Inspector General: “His experience as a tough prosecutor equips him to search out fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption, and bring those to justice who break the law.”