Election Lawsuit Citing ‘Lord of the Rings’ Is Tweaked After ‘a Bit of Rest’
Election Lawsuit Citing ‘Lord of the Rings’ Is Tweaked After ‘a Bit of Rest’
(Bloomberg) -- Citing J.R.R. Tolkien’s absent King Aragorn in a lawsuit seeking to nullify November’s U.S. election might have been a bit much, supporters of Donald Trump acknowledged in a new filing after being ridiculed online.
“This lawsuit does NOT seek to ‘install Donald Trump as president,’” because the whole election was illegal, they told the court on Monday to clarify their aims. Instead, the supporters said, they just want to “curb the power of a disputed Congress and President” while their case is heard.
The suit, filed Jan. 18 in federal court in Waco, Texas, names House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, among others. It “merely seeks a return to the system of government contemplated by the founders of this nation -- a republic where representatives are elected by its citizens -- through a new election,” the group said.
In a request for a temporary restraining order against the new government, the group cited Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy to argue that President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Congress have no legitimate claim to governance.
‘Rightful King of Gondor’
“During the course of the epic trilogy, the rightful King of Gondor had abandoned the throne,” and so “a steward was appointed to manage Gondor until the return of the King, known as ‘Aragorn,’” it said. It asked the court to “appoint a group of special masters (the ‘Stewards’)” to check the power of “the illegitimate President until this Constitutional crisis can be resolved through a peaceful legal process.”
Monday’s filing is marked by a tone of concern, or perhaps exasperation, at being misunderstood.
“Salon.com and other media outlets, apparently due solely to counsel making a literary analogy (something not remotely uncommon to legal writing), have characterized this lawsuit as a mere fantasy,” the group said. “And perhaps they are right in a sense. Admittedly, Counsel has struggled greatly with the question of what is an appropriate remedy when an entire federal election has been conducted illegally.”
The solution appears to have come after a brief recharge.
“After getting a bit of rest and pondering it over the weekend,” the plaintiffs said, they had submitted an alternative proposed temporary restraining order -- one that “does not seek to appoint any ‘Stewards.’”
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