Attorney General Marshall and 24-state coalition object to Trump gag order

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (R) on Wednesday joined a 24-State coalition urging the district court in Florida to deny the Biden Department of Justice's request for an unconstitutional gag order against former President Donald J. Trump (R). The AGs claim that the gag order would wrongfully silence President Trump in the middle of an election campaign, denying Americans their right to hear from the leading candidate for President.

"The American people deserve to hear from the presumptive Republican nominee for President of the United States on issues facing our country, including the Biden Administration's possible misuse of law enforcement to target his political rivals," said AG Marshall. "Biden's requested gag order is a desperate and shocking attempt to silence Trump and skew the election. Biden's Department of Justice is engaged in an unprecedented assault on Trump's First Amendment rights and liberties, and we will continue to hold the line against this radical political prosecution."

The AGs claim that President Biden's DOJ has requested a broad gag order that prohibits former President Donald J. Trump (R) from criticizing the unprecedented raid of his Mar-a-Lago home. The AGs also claim that President Biden's attempt to use courts to stop his political rival from criticizing Biden's DOJ is a stunning assault on First Amendment freedoms.

The coalitions letter argues that the proposed gag order is unclear, infringes on President Trump's free speech rights, and interferes with American voters' rights to hear what their candidate has to say leading into an election. The brief argues the court should deny the gag order requested against President Trump.

Iowa, Florida, and West Virginia co-led the brief. They were joined by Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

Republicans claim that the Biden Justice Department has weaponized the court system against Biden's political opponents.

Steve Marshall was appointed attorney general by Governor Robert Bentley in 2017. He was elected to his own term in 2018 and re-elected in 2022.

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