Remember when now-President Trump yelled "Get 'em out of here!" to hecklers at a few of his campaign rallies last year? On Friday a judge ruled that that was tantamount to inciting violence and allowed a lawsuit against the president to move forward.
The altercation in question occurred at the Kentucky International Convention Center on March 1, 2016. Three Trump protesters disrupted the candidate's speech, after which Trump yelled the now infamous "get 'em outta here!" Shortly after, Trump supporters physically attacked the hecklers.
It was partly Trump's fault, according to Judge David J. Hale, who rejected Trump's attorneys arguments that he was practicing free speech.
"It is plausible that Trump’s direction to 'get 'em out of here' advocated the use of force," the judge wrote. "Unlike the statements at issue in the cases cited by the Trump Defendants, 'get 'em out of here' is stated in the imperative; it was an order, an instruction, a command."
Hale did, however, dismiss a charge that Trump had "vicarious liability" for the violent supporters' actions.
The matter has been referred to a magistrate judge.