Lawsuit Against Trump Continues After Judge Rules He May Have Incited Violence

Donald Trump's lawyers tried to dismiss a lawsuit on grounds of free speech, but a Kentucky judge ruled against the President.

Donald Trump walks to a waiting Marine One helicopter
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Donald Trump walks to a waiting Marine One helicopter

Donald Trump walks to a waiting Marine One helicopter

Donald Trump's supporters have pushed back against criticism of his extemporaneous speech, but the courts keep ruling against him. The latest blow for Trump came in the state of Kentucky, where a federal judge ruled against a motion from Trump's attorneys to throw out a lawsuit against the President, according to The Washington Post.

The lawsuit stems from a campaign rally in Louisville, Kentucky in March 2016. While Trump was in the midst of his "stump speech" — a standard speech prepared by politicians to be given at numerous stops during their campaign tour — he was interrupted by dissenters in the audience. After repeatedly yelling, "get 'em out of here!" to the crowd, the protesters were then punched, shoved, and injured by Trump's supporters in the crowd.

As part of their defense, President Trump's legal team attempted to get the case dismissed on grounds of free speech. Judge David J. Hale of the U.S. Circuit Court, who is presiding over the case, ruled against Trump due to stipulations that remove first amendment protections when speech incites violence. You can watch the full speech from the rally in question below:

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In his ruling, Hale said there was plenty of evidence that proved the injuries suffered by the protesters could be directly linked to Trump's words from behind the podium:

"It is plausible that Trump's direction to 'get 'em out of here' advocated the use of force. Unlike the statements at issue in the cases cited by the Trump Defendants, 'get 'em out of here' is stated in the imperative; it was an order, an instruction, a command... Based on the allegations of the complaint, which the Court must accept as true, Trump's statement at least 'implicitly encouraged the use of violence or lawless action.'"

The legal shutdown is just the latest in a string of defeats for Trump in the court system. Trump's immigration ban has been shot down by the courts on several occasions already, aided by the fact that top Trump advisors revealed publicly that the legislation would be mostly unchanged after being halted in court the first time.

While Trump gained a lot of fans by "telling it like it is," he's quickly learning the things he says and does as a political figure are not so easily dismissed.

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