As former President Donald Trump heads to court Thursday for an initial appearance on federal charges connected to his effort to overturn his loss in the 2020 election, his allies in Congress and elsewhere have decried the prosecution for targeting his freedom of speech.
But legal experts and the indictment itself said that while Trump has a right to lie about the results of the 2020 election, steps beyond just statements, such as orchestrating sets of false electors, move beyond the protections of the First Amendment.
“President Trump could say every day that he won the election, that the election was stolen, and that’s not a crime,” said Jimmy Gurulé, a criminal law professor at Notre Dame Law School and former official at the Justice and Treasury departments.
