Elon Musk has handed out two $1million cheques to supporters just before Wisconsin's judicial election after the state's supreme court declined the chance to intervene.
The mid-west state is due to hold a Supreme Court election on Tuesday to elect a judge for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to sit for a 10-year term.
The state Attorney General and Democrat Josh Kaul have sued, complaining that giving away gifts in exchange for electoral support was illegal.
However, in an ardent defence of free speech, the tech tycoon's legal team issued a response, arguing that Kaul was "restraining Mr Musk's political speech and curtailing his First Amendment rights".
The state Attorney General and Democrat Josh Kaul has sued, complaining that giving away gifts in exchange for electoral support infringed state law
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At the rally last night, the billionaire deemed the election to be "critical" to Donald Trump's agenda during his second administration - as well as the "future of civilisation".
Speaking to a crowd of around 2,000 people, he declared the election a "super big deal", donning a massive cheesehead hat.
"I’m not phoning it in. I’m here in person," he said, emphasising the election's significance.
He added that "we just want judges to be judges" as he gave away $1million cheques to two individuals who had signed an online petition to block "activist judges".
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The billionaire's legal team has claimed that the money was "intended to generate a grassroots movement in opposition to activist judges, not to expressly advocate for or against any candidate".
Two lower courts subsequently backed Musk, while the state's top court refused to hear the case altogether.
During the highly contested and much-anticipated election period, Musk and Trump have backed conservative candidate Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel in a bid to tip the court further away from liberal values.
Meanwhile, liberal judges have backed Dane County Judge Susan Crawford.
Consequently, Musk's lawyers insisted that those who have backed Crawford should be excluded from ruling on the matter of the X chief handing out cheques due to the possibility of bias.
Two lower courts subsequently backed Musk, while the state's top court refused to hear the case altogether
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The state has witnessed an unprecedented amount of spending for a judicial election as more than $81million has been shelled out on campaigns so far.
Musk's speech has come as commentators dub the election an acid test of Trump's time in the White House since his second inauguration.
It will also come ahead of significant court rulings on abortion rights, voting laws and redrawing congressional boundaries - some of which might impact next year's mid-term elections.
Musk is known for his generous giveaways ahead of monumental elections. For example, he handed out $1million each day to voters across six battleground states - as long as they had signed a petition to back the rights to free speech and bear arms.
When taken to court, lawyers ruled that the giveaway was lawful.
