Elon Musk ordered to attend Philadelphia hearing; DA asks for more security

PHILADELPHIA — The judge overseeing the lawsuit against Elon Musk and his $1 million giveaway to registered voters who sign a petition supporting the First and Second amendments has moved up a hearing in the case to Thursday at 10 a.m., bumping it up from Friday, according to a new order.

The order from Philadelphia Judge Angelo Foglietta states that “all parties must be present.”

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Matthew Haverstick, one of several lawyers representing the defendants, declined to say late Wednesday if Musk would attend the hearing.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner filed the lawsuit against Musk to stop the America PAC sweepstakes.

The sweepstakes is open to people in battleground states who sign a petition supporting the Constitution.

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Krasner has said he could still consider criminal charges, saying he is tasked with protecting the public from both illegal lotteries and “interference with the integrity of elections.”

Election law experts have raised questions about whether it violates federal law barring someone from paying others to vote. Musk has cast the money as both a prize as well as earnings for work as a spokesperson for the group.

Krasner, in the suit, said that America PAC and Musk “are indisputably violating Pennsylvania’s statutory prohibitions against illegal lotteries and deceiving consumers.”

The Philadelphia DA has also asked the judge overseeing the case to “enhance its security” for the upcoming hearing.

Krasner said Musk’s post about the case on X has “triggered an avalanche of posts,” including “antisemitic attacks” against the prosecutor.

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One account was “inviting political violence” and posted Krasner’s home address, according to the filing.

“These posts, which unquestionable are criminal …. and remain posted on Musk’s X website today,” the filing states.

Another post read, “Krasner loves visitors. Mask up and leave all cellphones at home,” according to the filing.

“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 cellphone geolocation,” the filing reads.

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Federal law singles out anyone who “pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or for voting.” The penalty is a fine of no more than $10,000 or a prison sentence as long as 5 years.

Several experts ABC News spoke to in the wake of Musk announcing the giveaway said it occupies a blurry area of law.

“I’ve gone back and forth on it,” Richard Briffault, a professor of legislation at Columbia University Law School, told ABC News. “It clearly violates the spirit of the statute, but it’s not 100% clear to me that it violates the letter of the law.”

Other experts, like Doug Spencer, a professor of election law at the University of Colorado, said “it seems like it really crosses the line.”

Both Trump and Harris have made repeated visits to the state as they fight for Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes.

Musk, who founded SpaceX and Tesla and owns X, has gone all in on Trump this election, saying he thinks civilization is at stake if he loses. He is undertaking much of the get-out-the-vote effort for Trump through his super PAC, which can raise and spend unlimited sums of money.

He has committed more than $70 million to the super PAC to help Trump and other Republicans win in November.

Representatives for Musk did not immediately respond to ABC News for comment.

AP and ABC News’ Olivia Rubin contributed to this report.