a judge has barred roger stone's group stop the steal from intimidating voters at the polls on election day. | getty court order bars trump, stone, 'stop the steal' and clinton-related groups from intimidating voters. by josh gerstein 11/04/16 05:10 pm edt updated 11/04/16 05:59 pm edt a federal judge in ohio has issued an injunction barring donald trump's campaign, trump backer roger stone, and stone's group stop the steal from intimidating voters at the polls. the order from u.s. district court judge james gwin also bars stop the steal from moving forward with plans to conduct exit polling as part of what stone has billed as an effort to detect election fraud. story continued below noting comments from august in which trump encouraged supporters to monitor "certain areas" in pennsylvania, the judge indicated there were indications that actions at polling places might violate the law. "rather than issue a broad and indefinite injunctive order, the court orders compliance with specific provisions of the ohio revised code until voting concludes for the 2016 presidential election. and, where there is a legitimate possibility that particular laws may be imminently violated, ordering compliance with those laws is appropriate," wrote gwin, an appointee of president bill clinton. gwin's order prohibits hindering or delaying voters, interrogating voters in polling places or nearby lines. it extends through next tuesday "or until voting in the 2016 presidential election is complete." the trump campaign said the judge's order would have no impact on its activities, because it is already planning to abide by the law. "the complaints are long on rhetoric, short on substance, and are clearly designed to change the subject away from hillary clinton's mounting legal problems," a trump spokesman said. "stop the steal and roger stone are not affiliated with the campaign, and we have no idea what they are doing. the campaign is doing everything in accordance with applicable law <u+2014> the suit does not challenge this, and asks only that the law be followed, which the campaign is already doing.<u+201d> stone did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the judge's order. trump and groups like stone's stop the steal have been warning that voter fraud could sway the election in favor of hillary clinton by counting votes from non-citizens or people who try to vote multiple times. trump's allies have suggested that the threat of such fraud is most serious in urban areas and that trump supporters should travel to such polling places to keep an eye on activities there. democrats have warned that the anti-voter fraud efforts are a thinly veiled attempt to intimidate minority voters and suppress democratic turnout. democrats seeking to halt gop-friendly pollwatching efforts cast as anti-fraud drives have filed suit in at least five swing states, including the case that led to gwin's injunction friday. in addition, a federal judge in new jersey is considering a democratic national committee motion to have the republican national committee ordered to comply with a longstanding consent decree limiting its involvement in so-called "ballot security" efforts. rnc officials say that the national party is abiding by the decree and that any such efforts being undertaken by state republican parties are entirely independent of the rnc. by steven shepard some of the provisions in gwin's order could impact the media, including a ban on "taking photos of, or otherwise recording voters or prospective voters" at or near polling places. the judge's restriction on what he called ''purported 'exit polling' or 'citizen journalist' operations" extends only to efforts "organized and encouraged by defendants stone and stop the steal." gwin acted on a lawsuit filed by the ohio democratic party. however, he indicates that the injunction also applies to "groups associated with the clinton for presidency [sic] campaign." the ohio republican party was a defendant in the case. the judge's order doesn't single out the state gop, but appears to sweep broadly against all "individuals and groups" involved in activities at polling places. it was not immediately clear whether gwin's order applies outside ohio. the order refers in several places to ohio state law, but does not contain language expressly limiting the injunction to the buckeye state. by bill scher by thomas wright by joshua zeitz by jack shafer
ohio federal judge issues injunction against trump and stone - politico
josh gerstein steven shepard jack shafer