Did Donald Trump incite violence when he barked “get them out of here” at protesters who were then roughed up? A judge decided Friday that it’s plausible, allowing a lawsuit filed against the president to go to trial.
U. S. District Judge David J. Hale of the Western District of Kentucky also wrote in an opinion and order released Friday that because violence had broken out at a prior Trump rally and that known hate group members were in the Louisville crowd, Trump’s ordering the removal of an African-American woman was “particularly reckless.”
Citing case law from tumultuous 1960s race riots and student protests, Hale rejected motions to dismiss the pending complaint against Trump and three supporters in the crowd that was filed by three protesters after a March 1, 2016, campaign rally in Louisville. Only a portion of the defendants’ motion was granted, but the decision means that the bulk of the claims will proceed. Hale referred the case to Magistrate Judge H. Brent Brennenstuhl.
Hale obviously doesn’t fancy Trump’s luck and everyone’s getting terribly excited on Twitter, but let’s just say that bad things happen when weekend editors end up covering courts, he’s just kicking it on to a trial that hasn’t happened yet, so calm yer fingers.