The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments Friday in a case that seeks to throw out a Nevada law passed in 2023 to protect election workers from harassment and intimidation.
Las Vegas attorney Sigal Chattah spoke on behalf of four plaintiffs — including Washoe County Republican influencer Robert Beadles — to a three-judge panel.
The appeals court is being asked to reverse a U.S. District Court decision that found Beadles and the other plaintiffs had not shown there was a credible threat they could be falsely prosecuted for intimidating election workers.
As with many appeals cases, the legal action got into the weeds of legal interpretation. Chattah’s main argument, though, is that the Nevada law is so vague in what constitutes intimidation that it stifles the rights of people who want to observe the voting process but fear possible prosecution if their actions are misinterpreted by election workers….
Judge Roopali Desai said she wanted a specific example that would indicate someone could be prosecuted for using the wrong tone.
Chattah brought up Ford’s tweet.
Judge Desai noted that the tweet predated the law’s enactment “so to me, that doesn’t really fit. What else can you point to that indicates that you believe there’s going to be a credible threat of enforcement?”
After some back and forth, the judge asked if there had been any threats of enforcing the antiharassment law during the 2024 election.
“No, not that I know of,” Chattah said and then mentioned Ford’s tweet again, calling it “a credible threat” that poll watchers could be prosecuted if election workers interpreted their actions as intimidating…..