Democrats' voter intimidation charges against GOP head to federal court
Democrats will argue before a federal judge in New Jersey on Friday that Republicans are coordinating with GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump to intimidate voters.
The Republican Party says the charges are not true.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) lawsuit asked the judge to prohibit the RNC from allocating money to fund, reimburse expenses or provide support to Donald Trump and his campaign’s “voter intimidation program” or Trump supporters’ plans to serve as poll-watchers on Election Day on Nov. 8.
Last week, CBS News’ Jeff Pegues learned that federal law enforcement officials are concerned about the increasing calls for violence around Election Day, particularly from Trump’s supporters. Officials are weighing warning police agencies nationwide, but are concerned that any sort of warning would be dismissed as “federal officials playing politics,” which could open law enforcement up to claims of bias in the lead-up to Election Day.
The legal challenge is one of several around the country filed by Democrats claiming Republicans and the Trump campaign are pushing supporters to intimidate and confront voters on Election Day.
Republicans on Thursday fought back against charges of wrongdoing before judges in Nevada and Arizona.
In Nevada, U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware said Thursday he doesn’t expect to issue a restraining order that Democrats sought ahead of Tuesday’s election, but won’t issue a final ruling until a hearing on Friday about whether Stone was encouraging what Democrats call “vigilante voter intimidation.”
Arguments will be heard on Friday in Ohio and in Pennsylvania on Monday.
The nearly identical legal challenges seek court orders intended to block volunteer GOP poll watchers from harassing people headed to the polls.
