Judge Hernan Vera described part of the Greene and Gaetz case as “unprecedented and stunningly deficient pleading.”
House Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz can proceed with legal action against two cities in California over the cancellation of rallies they were due to hold in 2021, following the decision of a federal judge filed on Friday.
Greene and Gaetz are two of presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s most-outspoken supporters in the House. In his ruling, Vera attempted to balance the competing First Amendment claims of the two GOP firebrands and campaigners opposed to their activities.
In 2021, Gaetz and Greene made bookings to host indoor events in the cities of Anaheim and Riverside in California, but had them canceled at short notice following complaints by a range of campaigners and advocacy groups.
In his judgment, Vera, a Biden appointee, said the two Republicans had “adequately” demonstrated that “the Municipal Defendants delegated to their respective agents the authority to cancel the rally” in a move that was “expressly predicated on viewpoint discrimination.
