ACLU sides with Trump over Jan. 6 criminal case gag order: Report

The American Civil Liberties Union has sided with Donald Trump over a gag order in the federal criminal case over his attempts to delegitimize the results of the 2020 election, the Guardian reported Wednesday.

The historically liberal watchdog argued in a brief to the court that U.S. district judge Tanya S. Chutkan's limited gag order, which forbids Trump from publicly attacking Special Counsel Jack Smith, was too broad.

“No modern-day president did more damage to civil liberties and civil rights than President Trump, but if we allow his free speech rights to be abridged, we know that other unpopular voices – even ones we agree with – will also be silenced,” said Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU.

“As much as we disagreed with Donald Trump’s policies, everyone is entitled to the same first amendment protection against gag orders that are too broad and too vague."

The ACLU contends the gag order doesn't clearly define "targeting" and could prevent Trump from discussing 2024 presidential campaign issues that voters have a right to hear.

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“Some of his words and actions have led him to this criminal indictment, which alleges grave wrongdoing in contempt of the peaceful transition of power," the brief states. "But Trump retains a first amendment right to speech, and the rest of us retain a right to hear what he has to say.”

This is not the first time the ACLU has aligned itself with someone whose politics the group condemns, the Guardian notes. Neo-Nazis, the National Rifle Association and the Ku Klux Klan have all seen their right to free speech defended by the ACLU.