U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young shocked attorneys with a damning opinion against two of President Donald Trump's cabinet secretaries — Marco Rubio and Kristi Noem — who he said conspired to undermine the free speech rights of pro-Palestinian activists.
Following a September ruling against the Trump administration, Young continued to disclose his remarkable opinion on Thursday.
"There was no policy here. What happened here is an unconstitutional conspiracy to pick off certain people, to twist the laws," the judge said. "Two cabinet secretaries conspired ... they intentionally, knowing what they were doing, counseled by professionals who cautioned them, nevertheless went ahead to pick off these people with the intention that your clients would be chilled. And did so rather effectively, by the way."
"I was struck by the intentionality of the Constitutional violation. I see this as a conspiracy to deprive your clients of First Amendment constitutional rights," he added. "It's fairly clear that this President believes, as an authoritarian, when he speaks, everyone, everyone, in Article II, is going to toe the line absolutely."
