Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is suing to halt Elon Musk’s $1 million giveaway to swing state voters.
The suit, filed Monday in Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia, accused the tech billionaire and his America PAC supporting former Prwsident Donald Trump’s candidacy of “running an illegal lottery in Philadelphia, as well as throughout Pennsylvania.”
The case is based on Pennsylvania’s lottery and consumer protection laws. Krasner, a Democrat, clarified in the complaint that is was not about state and federal laws that prohibit vote-buying.
“Running an illegal lottery and violating consumer protections is ample basis for an injunction and concluding that America PAC and Musk must be stopped, immediately, before the upcoming Presidential Election on November 5,” Krasner told the court in his suit. “That is because America PAC and Musk hatched their illegal lottery scheme to influence voters in that election.”
Specifically, the DA alleged that Musk failed to meet Pennsylvania’s requirements for lottery operators, which mandate publishing a “complete set of lottery rules” and detailing measures to protect participants’ personal information. He also raised concerns that the selection of winners may have been rigged.
“Though Musk says that a winner’s selection is ‘random,’ that appears false because multiple winners that have been selected are individuals who have shown up at Trump rallies in Pennsylvania,” the lawsuit alleges, arguing that the lottery rules are “deceptive.”
The suit came after Musk announced the eighth winner of his super PAC’s $1 million prize in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and doubled down on his his pledge to give out awards to registered voters in seven battleground states every day until Election Day.
To be eligible, participants must sign a petition on the PAC’s website affirming their support of the First and Second Amendment to the Constitution. The online petition form says one has to be a registered voter to participate, but voting itself is not required.
“We’re trying to get attention for this very important petition to support the Constitution,” Musk told the audience at the Oct. 26 event. “We need the right to free speech; we need the right to bear arms.”
“So we’re going to be giving out a million dollars every day through Nov. 5,” he continued. “All you have to do is sign the petition in support of the First and Second Amendment. That’s it. You don’t even have to vote. It’d be nice if you voted, but you don’t have to. And then just basically sign something you already believe in, and you get a test to win a million dollars every day from now through the election.”
The America PAC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comments.
From The Epoch Times