An Ohio judge on Friday issued a temporary restraining order against Donald Trump's campaign in response to the Ohio Democratic Party's lawsuit claiming Trump supporters planned to "watch" and intimidate minority voters in certain regions of the state, The Associated Press reports. While the original lawsuit also accused the Ohio Republican Party, the state party was ultimately dismissed as a defendant because "there was insufficient evidence that the Ohio Republican Party itself was planning the voter intimidation," Cleveland civil rights attorney Subodh Chandra told ThinkProgress. "Clearly [the judge] thought there was enough evidence about the Trump campaign." The restraining order prevents individuals from intimidating and harassing voters, and anyone found to violate the order could face contempt of court.
Trump's campaign unsuccessfully tried to defend itself by saying it was "absurd" to argue that "essentially half of the electorate … is engaged in a 'conspiracy' to suppress voter turnout." "At one point during Friday's hearing, according to Chandra, Trump's lawyer also tried to allege that Trump's voter fraud message happens all the time. When the judge asked for an example, the lawyer walked back the claim," ThinkProgress writes.
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Trump has been widely criticized for encouraging his supporters on multiple occasions to "watch" for other voters. "And when I say 'watch,' you know what I'm talking about, right?" Trump asked the crowd in Akron, Ohio, in August. "You know what I'm talking about."
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