Colorado Judge Issues Protective Order for Trump Lawsuit Witnesses

In a hearing last Friday, a Denver District Court judge entered a protective order for witnesses and others involved in a lawsuit aiming to block former President Donald Trump from appearing on the 2024 Colorado presidential ballot. This decision was made after concerns were raised about the safety of all parties involved, including the judge and her staff.

The lawyer representing the plaintiffs, Sean Grimsley, argued for the protective order citing Trump's history of "inflammatory" statements made around other cases where he was a defendant. Judge Sarah B. Wallace shared these concerns and granted the order, stating, "Based on what we've seen in other cases, I have concerns for the safety of the parties, the lawyers, and my own staff."

One example referenced by Grimsley was Trump's response on the newly launched social media platform, Truth Social, to a special counsel's indictment against him for alleged crimes related to the events of January 6. Trump stated, "If you go after me, I'm coming after you!" The prosecution viewed this as "inflammatory" and "intimidating."

Another concern cited by Grimsley was a recent comment made by Dave Williams, chair of the Colorado Republican Party, who called the Colorado lawsuit against Trump "treasonous." Grimsley argued that this language could be seen as a code for implying the plaintiffs had committed a capital crime.

While most of the hearing focused on procedural matters, Trump's lawyer, Scott Gessler, a former Colorado secretary of state, indicated that he intends to seek dismissal of the case under a recent Colorado law known as anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) which aims to protect individuals from baseless lawsuits for exercising their First Amendment rights. Gessler believes this motion will be successful as all the allegations against Trump in this case are based on his speech.

"We believe it's a winner," Gessler confidently stated.

Gessler also raised concerns about the proposed protective order, arguing that witness tampering and intimidation are already prohibited by law and that Trump's critics have also engaged in inflammatory speech. He pointed out that Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold accused Trump of trying to "steal an election" and labeled the events of January 6 as an "insurrection." Gessler stated, "That type of speech is definitely coming from other quarters," emphasizing the double standard at play.

This case is being closely watched as it is the first major test of the 14th Amendment's disqualification clause since the Civil War era. Other states, such as Minnesota, are also expected to face similar cases filed by organizations like Free Speech For People.

The protective order issued by Judge Wallace bars all parties from engaging in "inflammatory" speech, as defined by remarks made during the hearing. The trial is set to begin on October 30 and is expected to last five days.