Judge refuses to drop election system worker's suit against Donald Trump

Colorado judge has denied motions to dismiss defamation lawsuit filed by elections system worker

Eric Coomer from Dominion Voting demonstrates his company's touchscreen tablet in Grovetown, Georgia. Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP

A Colorado judge on Friday denied motions to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by an election systems worker against former president Donald Trump's campaign, two of its lawyers and a handful of conservative media figures and outlets.

District Court Judge Marie Avery Moses, in a 136-page decision, rejected various arguments to throw out the lawsuit filed by Eric Coomer, who was security director at the Colorado-based Dominion Voting Systems.

Mr Coomer said he faced death threats after he was accused of trying to rig the 2020 presidential election in favour of President Joe Biden.

Moses wrote that “there is overwhelming evidence that an injunction would serve the public interest because the public is harmed by the spread of defamatory information”.

Mr Coomer's lawsuit, filed in Denver County, Colorado, accused the Trump campaign and lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell of spreading false stories about him.

Conservative columnist Michelle Malkin, the website Gateway Pundit, Colorado conservative activist Joseph Oltmann and One America News Network were among the others named in the suit.

The conservative news outlet Newsmax was dropped from Mr Coomer's lawsuit in April 2021 after it apologised and aired a statement that it had found no evidence that the accusations made against him by Mr Trump's team and supporters were true.

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  Donald Trump, the president at the time, speaks during a rally protesting the electoral college certification of Joe Biden as president in Washington on January 6, 2021. AP

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  A mob loyal to Mr Trump tries to break through a police barrier at the Capitol. AP

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  The mob waves pro-Trump flags in front of the Capitol building. AP

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  US Capitol Police push back rioters trying to enter the US Capitol. AP

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  Police and rioters confront each other in the Rotunda of the Capitol. US Capitol Police via AP

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  Insurrectionists loyal to Mr Trump breach the Capitol in Washington. AP

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  Trump supporters, including Doug Jensen, centre, confront US Capitol Police in the hallway outside the Senate chamber at the Capitol. AP

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