Judge Denies Motion To Dismiss Case Against Political Robocallers

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: WHMI

Judge Denies Motion To Dismiss Case Against Political Robocallers
February 24, 2021

By Jessica Mathews / [e-mail]

A judge won’t toss the case filed against two conservative activists charged with making false voter robocalls. ... Judge Margaret Van Houten rejected a motion to quash the information and dismiss the case against 54-year-old Jack Burkman and 22-year-old Jacob Wohl - rejecting the pair’s constitutional arguments. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel made the announcement Tuesday, saying they’re pleased with the court's ruling and look forward to the case continuing on to the next stage.

Burkman and Wohl are accused of orchestrating a robocall to intimidate voters in Detroit and other cities with significant minority populations. The men have a history of staging hoaxes and spreading false smears against government officials. The calls falsely warned residents in majority-Black Detroit and urban areas in at least four other states that voting by mail in the November 3rd election could subject people to arrest, debt collection and forced vaccination. The robocalls were made in late August and went out to nearly 12,000 residents in the Detroit area.

In their motion and oral arguments, Burkman and Wohl claimed the conduct did not violate Michigan’s voter intimidation law and that the robocalls were nonetheless protected by the First Amendment. ..Judge Van Houten rejected those arguments. Van Houten ruled that the district court did not abuse its authority in binding the case over to Circuit Court because the robocall had the potential to deter people from voting by mail. She also rejected the free speech argument made by the defendants.

The case remains pending in Third Circuit Court.

Read more: https://www.whmi.com/news/article/attorney-general-nessel-political-robocallers

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Yesterday, Burkman and Wohl lost an attempt to have a civil case delayed.

Hat tip, Joe.My.God.

Trump Trolls Lose Bid To Dismiss MI Robocall Charges
https://www.joemygod.com/2021/02/trump-trolls-lose-bid-to-dismiss-mi-robocall-charges/

February 24, 2021

[rurallib]

1. More good news! Good to hear that they won't get away with this shit

It is about time some conservatives spend some time in jail for their illegal activities.

[napi21]

2. I can't believe they actually thought that poor excuse would fly with the judge! I guess when

have nothing on your side to argue, you try anything.

[Faux pas]

3. Kicketty Kickin'

[Oldem]

4. Interfering in an election is a crime. I hope the saying

is true in this case: "You do the crime, you do the time."

[DBoon]

5. So they think the 1st amandment protects scam artists?

So this fellow should not be charged because he is merely exercising his first amendment freedom of speech rights?

FROM: ENGR. CHRIS MADIBO.

CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS REQUEST.

I am making this contact based on the information I gathered from the business contact trade centre representative office here in Nigeria, where I got your e- mail address.

I have been mandated by my colleagues to seek for a very reliable and trustworthy person or a foreign company that can assist us in a very confidential business transaction, that will be of financial benefit to both parties based on mutual trust and co-operation.

I am the executive secretary of the contract review panel and payment recommendation board of the federal ministry of mines and solid mineral resources. We were appointed by the present civilian government of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, as a result of the petition filed by foreign contractors, to review the contracts that were awarded by the past military government of the late general Sani Abacha to foreign companies from 1997 to 2000 and make recommendation for payment of the contract amount owed the foreign companies/contractors from the fund allocated for foreign debt payment in this year’s budget.

In the course of our assignment we discovered that some of these contracts claims were grossly inflated and over invoice by those foreign companies, of course in active collusion with the past military regime. We have made a recommendation that these foreign contractors be paid their actual contract amount by the finance ministry, while the over-inflated sum should be returned to the federal Government account.

However I and my colleagues have set aside the sum of US$ 16,500,000.00 (Sixteen Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars) out of the over-inflated total amount for our utilisation, so as to secure our future, because we are poorly paid civil servants.

What we need is the person, whose foreign company we will slot in amongst our recommended list for payment.

This is exactly why I have contacted you. We will use our position and influence to take care of the documentations and all other official paperwork, so you do not have to worry about that, Provided you have an account that the fund can be transferred and that you have absolute control over the account. Note that all the modalities for this transaction has perfected.

For using your company name and account you shall be entitled to 20% of the total amount, while we take 75% and the remains 5% will be set aside to settle all sundry and incidental bills that may be expended for the actualisation of this transaction (i.e. documentation cost, communication bills etc).

If you are interested in working with me on this transaction, please signify through my return e-mail address, so that I can provide you with more detailed information on steps to take to realise this transaction within the next two weeks .

I await your prompt reply.

My best regard
Engr. Chris Madibo.

Sample Nigerian 419 fraud from https://www.cityofterrell.org/services/police-department/community-safety/crime-alert/nigerian-fraud-letter/

He is a model of integrity compared to Burkman and Wohl

[fleur-de-lisa]

6. Womp womp