Judge Scott McAfee ruled that the First Amendment's protections do not apply, since the speech in question is 'alleged to have been made in furtherance of criminal activity.'
A Georgia judge on Thursday denied an effort by former President Donald Trump and 14 others to dismiss the 2020 election-related case in Fulton County, ruling that the First Amendment does not protect the defendants from prosecution.In a 14-page order, Judge Scott McAfee rejected the argument put forth by the defendants that the charges violate the First Amendment's protections of political speech and the right to petition Congress.
Still, he added that 'accepting the allegations as true for the purposes of this pretrial challenge, as the court must, the speech alleged in this indictment is integral to criminal conduct and categorically excluded from First Amendment protections.'McAfee said defense attorneys have not presented 'any authority that the speech and conduct alleged' is constitutionally protected political speech.
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