Republican state Senate candidate J.C. Kantorowicz filed a lawsuit against Commissioner of Political Practices Jonathan Motl and Attorney General Tim Fox on Thursday claiming that his First Amendment rights to criticize his opponent are muzzled by a state law that he described as an “incumbent protection act.”
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Helena, arises from a complaint filed Monday with the COPP office by Steven Fitzpatrick, a Republican now serving in the state Legislature who is running against fellow Republican Kantorowicz in the June 7 primary for state Senate District 10.