A judge in the Atlanta area has upheld the criminal indictment against former President Donald Trump in Georgia, rejecting arguments that his efforts to overturn the 2020 election were protected under the First Amendment.

In his order, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee stated, “The defense has not presented, nor is the Court able to find, any authority that the speech and conduct alleged is protected political speech.”

McAfee’s ruling marks a significant step forward in the state racketeering case against Trump. However, despite Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis indicating readiness to go to trial as early as August, the judge has not set a trial date for Trump and his 14 co-defendants in Georgia.

McAfee’s decision to uphold the indictment reflects a trend where free speech defenses have repeatedly failed in pretrial proceedings related to election interference cases.

“After interpreting the indictment’s language liberally in favor of the State as required at this pretrial stage, the Court finds that the Defendants’ expressions and speech are alleged to have been made in furtherance of criminal activity,” McAfee wrote in his order.

Previously, McAfee had rejected similar First Amendment challenges from other defendants in the Georgia case. Similarly, in the federal election interference case, Judge Tanya Chutkan had also dismissed the argument that Trump’s actions constituted protected political speech.

The Fulton County district attorney’s office refrained from commenting on McAfee’s order.

Trump’s Georgia lawyer, Steve Sadow, expressed disagreement with the ruling, stating that Trump and other defendants would explore their options. Sadow emphasized that the court’s ruling allowed for the possibility of raising challenges again “after the establishment of a factual record.”

During a hearing on the First Amendment issue, Sadow had argued that Trump’s attempts to challenge the Georgia election results were “core political speech.”