From McAferty v. Musk, decided Wednesday by Judge Robert Pitman (W.D. Tex.); the factual summary is based on the allegations in plaintiff's complaint:
Plaintiff brings this putative class action to challenge the actions of Defendants in the lead up to the 2024 election. Musk founded America PAC, an independent expenditure only political action committee created to support "Secure Borders, Safe Cities, Free Speech, Sensible Spending, Fair Justice System and Self-Protection" and help elect Donald Trump as president. In October 2024, America PAC launched a "Petition in Favor of Free Speech and the Right to Bear Arms" (the "Petition") on their website. Visitors to America PAC's website could sign the Petition, which stated "The First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. By signing below, I am pledging my support for the First and Second Amendments." …
At an October 19, 2024 town hall, Musk announced another effort to promote the Petition. He said, "I have a surprise for you. Which is that we're going to be awarding $1 million dollars, randomly, to people who have signed the [P]etition. Every day from now until the election." Musk said they were launching this initiative because "I figured, 'How do we get people to know about [the Petition]?'" Musk then called an audience member, John Dreher ("Dreher"), to the stage as the first $1 million recipient, and said, "By the way, John had no idea." When Dreher came onto the stage to accept an oversized check, Musk told Dreher, "The only thing we ask for the million dollars is that you be a spokesperson for the [P]etition." [This was further promoted via various X posts. -EV] …
Another America PAC town hall was held on October 20, 2024, at which Musk announced a second $1 million recipient, Kristine Fiskell, who was in the audience that day. In total, America PAC awarded $1 million to nine individuals in October 2024, and Plaintiff alleges that each $1 million recipient "is featured on America PAC's website and X handle." As of the filing of Plaintiff's complaint, over 1 million people had signed the Petition.
In late October 2024, the District Attorney of Philadelphia filed a civil suit on behalf of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania against Defendants alleging that the Petition was an illegal lottery and a violation of the Pennsylvania Consumer Protection Act. The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas held a hearing on the case on November 4, 2024, where the court heard sworn testimony from, among others, America PAC's representative Chris Young ("Young"), the organization's director and treasurer.
Young testified that those selected to earn $ 1 million were not chosen by random chance but instead America PAC looked for individuals who signed the Petition that it thought would be a good fit to represent the organization as spokespeople. Based on this testimony, the complaint alleges that recipients were not chosen by chance but instead chosen based on their personal stories and thereafter signed a contract with America PAC to be their spokesperson….
