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Arizona ‘fake electors’ use anti-SLAPP defense, claim First Amendment privilege
Courthouse News ^ | 26 Aug 2024 | Joe Duhownik

Posted on 08/27/2024 10:26:43 PM PDT by blueplum

PHOENIX (CN) — Donald Trump allies including Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Republican leaders argued Monday that an indictment accusing them of conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election should be dismissed under Arizona’s newly amended anti-SLAPP statute, barring prosecutions intended to inhibit free exercise of First Amendment rights.

Fourteen of the 16 remaining defendants in Arizona’s “fake electors” case told a Maricopa County judge that the signing and certification of a document assigning Arizona’s 11 electoral votes to Donald Trump rather than President Joe Biden in 2020 was an expression of the defendants’ First Amendment freedoms to petition the government.

“There’s a difference between a group of people committing fraud and a group of people expressing an unpopular political belief,” Michael Columbo, attorney for Republican state Senator Jake Hoffman, told Maricopa Superior Court Judge Bruce Cohen Monday afternoon....

To satisfy an anti-SLAPP motion, the defendants must independently convince the judge that the legal action involved a First Amendment right and that the action was intended to quash that right...

“The context was completely ignored by the state,” Wilenchik said. “You cannot take this in a vacuum.”....

(Excerpt) Read more at courthousenews.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: 2020elections; antislapp; lawfare; trump
Defense attorneys pointed to Mayes' campaign promise to prosecute and to her deputy apparently gloating in a post to twitter about serving Guilliani on his birthday

Judge Bruce Cohen appeared open to hearing the defendants' arguments of political persecution and if he felt the arguments had merit, to hold a separate hearing

1 posted on 08/27/2024 10:26:43 PM PDT by blueplum
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To: blueplum

Bookmark


2 posted on 08/27/2024 11:01:25 PM PDT by Irish Eyes
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To: blueplum

https://www.azleg.gov/ars/12/00751.htm


3 posted on 08/27/2024 11:19:55 PM PDT by Az Joe (Live free or die)
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To: blueplum

They are alternate electors, not “fake electors”.


4 posted on 08/28/2024 1:42:39 AM PDT by Fido969
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To: Fido969

No, but the media reporting on the electors is fake. Fakey fake media.


5 posted on 08/28/2024 2:53:03 AM PDT by Sirius Lee (Trump/Vance 2024 or GFY)
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To: blueplum

What is illegal about few people getting together and voting for Trump?!


6 posted on 08/28/2024 5:05:56 AM PDT by AZJeep
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To: AZJeep

never forget the reason for the left’s treason, a peaceful protest to protect election integrity.

https://rumble.com/v181401-january-6th-rally-2021.html


7 posted on 08/28/2024 5:30:12 AM PDT by teeman8r (Armageddon won't be pretty, but it's not like it's the end of the world or something )
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To: blueplum

It’s simple. There was no intent to mislead. And no electors could have gotten improperly selected.


8 posted on 08/28/2024 6:19:39 AM PDT by Socon-Econ (adi)
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To: blueplum
Arizona is a corrupt state, and everyone involved in stealing the 2020 and 2022 elections need to go to prison.

Everyone prosecuting people for objecting to the corrupt election needs to go to prison.

9 posted on 08/28/2024 9:10:04 AM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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