Musk sweepstakes lawsuit moves to federal court

Pennsylvania Judge Angelo Foglietta on Thursday ordered the state of Pennsylvania to re-file its claim against tech billionaire Elon Musk in federal court, the Associated Press reported. Musk’s lawyers asked for the removal to federal court in a filing earlier that day. Musk’s team argued that the lawsuit, while brought in a Pennslyvania court, invoked serious questions of federal law that a federal court needed to decide. The state judge, Foglietta, agreed.

What’s this about? Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner sued Musk and his America PAC, which supports former president Donald Trump’s ongoing bid for the White House. Krasner’s office alleged that a sweepstakes the PAC was running violated Pennsylvania law by running an unlawful lottery. The sweepstakes awarded a different swing state resident $1 million each day.

To be eligible for the daily $1 million prize, participants needed to live in a state that could lean either Republican or Democratic in the upcoming presidential election. They also needed to sign a petition saying they believed in the First and Second Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. To participate, people did not need to vote or promise to vote in the upcoming election—they just needed to sign the petition. Before Krasner filed his lawsuit, the U.S. Department of Justice warned Musk that the sweepstakes could be illegal.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about a card game maker paying eligible voters to promise to vote and insult Trump on social media.