Citing antisemitic attacks and a barrage of harassment ahead of a court hearing in Pennsylvania over Elon Musk’s daily $1 million giveaway to registered voters, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner asked a court on Wednesday to “enhance its security” around the impending hearing.
The request filed Wednesday comes days after Krasner first sued Musk for what the district attorney’s office argues is an “illegal lottery scheme” launched by Musk and his pro-Trump political action committee, America PAC.
Krasner claims the program tarnishes a free and fair election process and violates federal laws around providing financial incentives. Prior to Krasner’s lawsuit, the U.S. Department of Justice warned Musk that the $1 million daily giveaway could run afoul of federal laws, but the agency brought no formal legal action.
By the time that letter was sent, however, the billionaire owner of Space X and Tesla had already given out $4 million. According to the America PAC petition website, $11 million has been given out so far. The website says “payments are already being processed,” but that “due to volume, all payments are expected to be issued on or before Nov. 30, 2024.”
Court records show a judge granted the request on Wednesday, agreeing to relocate the hearing to a courtroom in City Hall and moving it from Friday to Thursday at 10 a.m. ET.
To be entered into Musk’s sweepstakes, people signed a petition stating that they agreed to be a “spokesperson for America PAC.” The petition states that they agree to endorse the idea that the “First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms.” They must also be registered voters to be eligible.
According to Krasner’s lawsuit, only Pennsylvania can operate or administer lotteries.
The district attorney has also rejected the idea that the winners are “random,” as Musk has claimed.
Matt Rourk via Associated Press
The harassment campaign began shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Krasner said, and after Musk started posting on X. Musk reposted a message on his timeline that suggested Krasner “knows its not illegal but wants a leftist judge to stop [the lottery] before Election Day.”
That specific tweet was sent on Oct. 28 and quickly accrued over 8.9 million views.
“It immediately triggered an avalanche of posts from Musk’s followers. Many made antisemitic attacks on Krasner,” the request for Friday’s hearing states.
Musk promoted messages in the days immediately following the lawsuit that amplified known antisemitic tropes.
One post shared by the tech billionaire and ardent supporter for Trump declared: “Shapiro PA Governor / Krasner Philly DA / soros money machinations / what’s the Jewish population of Pennsylvania? Weird how they end up in every position of consequence every single time.” [sic]
“Even worse, one account responded to posts about the lawsuit at least 19 times by inviting political violence, posting Krasner family’s home address, including numerous posts also stating, ‘Krasner loves visitors. Mask up and leave all cellphones at home.’ The directives to ‘mask up’ and to ‘leave all cellphones at home’ are to prevent identification of illegal actors by video, by eyewitnesses, and by cell phone geolocation. These posts, which unquestionably are criminal, see 18 Pa. C.S. § 2719, and remain posted on Musk’s X website today,” the motion states.
The timing of the lawsuit and the initial scheduling of the hearing in the case nearly all but rendered efforts to stop Musk’s program moot.
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An attorney for America PAC did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday.
Pennsylvania has been awash in election related litigation as there are only six days left until Election Day. On Wednesday, the Trump campaign filed a lawsuit in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, claiming that voters were turned away when they attempted to submit mail-in ballots in person. Pennsylvania’s secretary of state denied those claims, and a judge promptly ordered the voters to be able to submit their mail-in ballots. Just three people were impacted, according to court records.
