Government

Judge Says Case Filed By Capitol Insurrectionist/'Lord Of The Rings' Enthusiast Is 'Without Merit'

Shocking exactly no one.

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Paul Davis (Image via Twitter)

Paul Davis has had quite the January, hasn’t he? He started the month off as associate general counsel and director of human resources at Goosehead Insurance, but then he participated in an attempted coup — and posted his exploits on social media. So, yeah. He’s no longer employed by Goosehead Insurance. But his brush with infamy wasn’t over yet!

He attempted to put his law degree to use by filing a lawsuit (along with lawyer and failed candidate for the Texas House of Representatives Kellye SoRelle) that “is not a 2020 presidential election fraud lawsuit” but still somehow seeks to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The complaint, which lists every single member of the 117th Congress, every state governor and secretary of state, and Mark Zuckerberg as defendants, alleges changes to election laws in advance of the 2020 election were in violation of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) which resulted in civil rights violations. And it asks that all actions of the new Congress — including certification of Joe Biden’s win and the second impeachment of Donald Trump — be invalidated.

And as bonkers as that already was — there’s more!

That’s because he filed an amended TRO motion in the case using the experiences of Gondor as precedent. That’s right, he dusted off the old J.R.R. Tolkien and asked a federal court to throw out the results of a free and fair election because… Gondor has no king. The filing is a real journey. But wait! There’s more!

He made… a bunch of filings, especially for a case still in its infancy, one of which went after the media for ridiculing his brief. I mean… ask a judge to install the government of Middle-Earth and this is what you get.

Anyway, yesterday we got the first signal this farce of a lawsuit might be drawing to a close.

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Judge Alan Albright (appointed by Donald Trump, no less) has issued an order to show cause, and it’s fair to say he isn’t impressed by Davis’s legal analysis:

Here, the Court finds that Plaintiff’s claims are without merit, because the federal statute under which they seek relief do not permit them to sue Defendants to restrain Defendants from “participating in any action relating to the process of electing public officials, holding public office or any official government position, or position in any partisan enterprise related to American politics, and from defaming or threatening or otherwise interfering with the life, liberty, or property of Plaintiffs.” Pls.’ Compl. Plaintiffs have not pleaded sufficient facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face under either the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) or § 1983.

And, you know, HAVA “does not provide the declaratory relief” sought, and “§ 1983, even if used to assert any potential right under HAVA, does not apply to federal officers, such as members of the 117th U.S. Congress, who act under federal law, and thus relief is not available under this statute.”

Plaintiffs have until February 10th to amend the complaint, but the future of Davis’s case doesn’t look too good. Maybe he can get a writ of mandamus from the Council of Elrond?

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headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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