Judge to Trump: No Protection for Campaign Rally Speech Inciting Violence

Trump at rally in Louisville, Kentucky

A federal judge has rejected President Donald Trump’s free speech defense against a lawsuit accusing him of inciting violence against protesters at a campaign rally.

Trump’s lawyers sought to dismiss the lawsuit by three protesters who say they were roughed up by his supporters at a March 1, 2016 rally in Louisville, Kentucky. They argued that Trump didn’t intend for his supporters to use force.

Two women and a man say they were shoved and punched by audience members at Trump’s command. Much of it was captured on video and widely broadcast during the campaign, showing Trump pointing at the protesters and repeating “get them out.”

Judge David J. Hale in Louisville ruled Friday that the suit against Trump, his campaign and three of his supporters can proceed. Hale found ample facts supporting allegations that the protesters’ injuries were a “direct and proximate result” of Trump’s actions, and noted that the Supreme Court has ruled out constitutional protections for speech that incites violence.

“It is plausible that Trump’s direction to ‘get ’em out of here’ advocated the use of force,” the judge wrote. “It was an order, an instruction, a command.”

Plaintiffs Kashiya Nwanguma, Molly Shah and Henry Brousseau allege that they were physically attacked by several members of the audience, including Matthew Heimbach, Alvin Bamberger and an unnamed defendant they have yet to be able to identify.

Bamberger later apologized to the Korean War Veterans Association, whose uniform he wore at the rally. He wrote that he “physically pushed a young woman down the aisle toward the exit” after “Trump kept saying ‘get them out, get them out,” according to the lawsuit.

Heimbach, for his part, sought to dismiss the lawsuit’s discussion of his association with a white nationalist group and of statements he made about how Trump could advance the group’s interests. The judge declined, saying such information could be important context when determining punitive damages.

The judge also declined to remove allegations that Nwanguma, an African-American, was the victim of racial, ethnic and sexist slurs from the crowd at the rally. This context may support the plaintiffs’ claims of negligence and incitement by Trump and his campaign, the judge said.

“While the words themselves are repulsive, they are relevant to show the atmosphere in which the alleged events occurred,” Hale wrote.

Lawyers for Trump and his campaign also argued that they cannot be held liable because they had no duty to the plaintiffs, who assumed the risk of injury when they decided to protest at the rally. The judge countered that under the law, every person has a duty to every other person to use care to prevent foreseeable injury.

“In sum, the Court finds that Plaintiffs have adequately alleged that their harm was foreseeable and that the Trump Defendants had a duty to prevent it,” the judge ruled, referring the case to a federal magistrate, Judge H. Brent Brennenstuhl, to handle preliminary litigation, discovery and settlement efforts.

(h/t NBC News)

Reality

You can watch the separate events here:

And here:

 

Trump Takes Another Jab at Ex-49ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick

President Donald Trump on Monday reprised his attacks on former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, telling supporters in Kentucky that “they like when people actually stand for the American flag.”

Standing before a cheering throng at the Exposition Center in Louisville, Trump referenced a report published Friday that anonymously quoted National Football League officials discussing Kaepernick’s slumping prospects as a free agent. Some loathed the police brutality-fueled protest that saw Kaepernick — and others — take a knee during the national anthem last season.

Others feared a backlash from their fans. Still others feared the president himself.

Or, as Trump put it during his Louisville rally: “They don’t want to get a nasty tweet from Donald Trump. Do you believe that?”

The crowd roared and Trump, grinning, continued.

“I said, if I remember that one, I’m going to the people of Kentucky because they like when people actually stand for the American flag.”

This is well-trod territory for Trump. During the campaign, he described Kaepernick as disrespectful, the protest as “a sad thing” and suggested that the quarterback move abroad.

“Maybe he should find a country that works better for him,” he told a radio host in August, according to The Hill.

Director Spike Lee, meanwhile, has come to the quarterback’s defense. In an Instagram post on Sunday, the two posed for a selfie while Lee described the league’s apparent disinterest as “subterfuge” and “skullduggery.”

“What Crime Has Colin Committed?” Lee wrote. “Look At The QB’s Of All 32 Teams. This Is Some Straight Up Shenanigans, Subterfuge, Skullduggery And BS.”

(h/t NBC News)

Media

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcUeJHLnIss

Trump Incited Crowd Violence in Kentucky

Trump at rally in Louisville, Kentucky

Three people were assaulted at a Donald Trump rally in Louisville, Kentucky, and have since filed a lawsuit against the Republican presidential candidate, saying he “incited a riot.”

Molly Shah, Kashiya Nwanguma and Henry Brousseau filed the lawsuit on Thursday in Jefferson Circuit Court in Louisville, claiming that Trump’s repeated calls of “get them out” at a rally at the Kentucky International Convention Center on March 1 was intended to direct his supporters to “use unwanted, harmful physical force to remove protesters, including the plaintiffs.”

The lawsuit also names as defendants the Trump campaign and three individuals who the plaintiffs claim assaulted them at the rally.

Reality

This was not the only incident at the event.

Protests at Trump rallies do not occur in a vacuum. Since he first announced his candidacy, Trump continues to make racist, sexist, and authoritarian remarks that marginalizes anyone who do not meet his view of white and conservative enough. A full list of protests can be found here.

Media

Full speech

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hzc9yL3_n8

 

Woman Assaulted at Trump Rally

Protester Shiya Nwanguma being forcibly removed.

It wasn’t long before protester, Shiya Nwanguma, was being pushed, shoved, and forcibly removed from a rally by white supremacists after Donald Trump noticed a sign she was holding and yelled, “Get her out of here.”

“I was called a nigger and a cunt and got kicked out,” said Shiya Nwanguma, a University of Louisville student. “They were pushing and shoving at me, cursing at me, yelling at me, called me every name in the book. They’re disgusting and dangerous.”

(h/t Washington Times, Insider Louisville)

Reality

This was not the only incident at the Louisville rally. Donald Trump promised to pay the legal fees if anyone roughs up a protester, what the hell did you think would start to happen?

Thankfully there has been repercussions for at least one of the assailants. Future Marine Joseph Pryor will no longer have the chance to be a future Marine.

Media