Mi Familia Vota v. Trump

Throughout the year of 2020, President Trump, Attorney General Bill Barr, and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf exhibited illegal suppression of speech and voter intimidation, including violent suppression of public protests opposing police brutality, encouragement of white supremacist “vigilantes,” threats to send “sheriffs” and other law enforcement to the polls, undermining of mail-in voting, and rejection of the peaceful transfer of power.

On October 21, 2020, Free Speech For People filed a lawsuit, on behalf of Mi Familia Vota Education Fund, a Latino civic engagement organization, and several individual voters, against President Trump and members of the administration. The lawsuit sought a preliminary injunction restraining Trump and the other defendants from continuing to engage in this unconstitutional and illegal intimidation.

Our complaint challenged the defendants’ pattern of violently suppressing opposition, sabotaging a free and fair election, and rejecting a peaceful transfer of power has the purpose and effect of intimidating Americans from voting, trying to vote, helping others to vote, supporting or advocating for the election of Defendant Trump’s opponent, or exercising the right to speak, peaceably assemble, or petition the government for redress of grievances, under Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Section 2 of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, and the U.S. Constitution.

Violent suppression of public protests

Nationwide protests against police brutality began in late May after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. While these demonstrations have remained overwhelmingly peaceful, President Trump has repeatedly referred to participants as “looters” and “anarchists,” and, along with plaintiffs Barr and Wolf, has falsely referred to the decentralized “Antifa” (anti-fascist) movement as a domestic terrorist organization. The administration’s deployment of unidentified DHS agents illegally detaining protesters and passersby in Portland, Oregon and questioning organizers of other assemblies about their political beliefs, has intimidated activists from attempting to organize additional peaceful demonstrations. Armed vigilantes, many of whom have shown public support for President Trump, have regularly appeared at protests around the country. In some instances, including that of Kyle Rittenhouse in August, their presence has resulted in violent clashes and deaths.

Discrediting voting by mail

As many states have expanded access to voting-by-mail in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump has repeatedly attacked and attempted to delegitimize the practice. He has publicly confirmed that his efforts to intimidate and coerce people not to vote by mail are subjectively motivated by the intent to harm his political opponents in the 2020 presidential election. And he directed or ratified Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, confirmed in June, who initiated or oversaw drastic reductions to USPS staffing and service, limited the use of mail trucks, and removed hundreds of public mailboxes and postal facility sorting machines to undermine the United States Postal Service.

Threatening to send law enforcement to polling places

Those seeking to vote in person also face intimidation from President Trump and his allies. Trump has called for armed military and law enforcement presence at polling stations in the name of preventing fraud, and encouraged supporters to serve as poll watchers for the campaign. These supporters have included the Proud Boys, a white supremacist organization whom Trump publicly ordered to “stand by” when asked about them at the September 29 presidential debate. On several occasions, Trump has also refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election.