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Elon Musk and his PAC sued the Philadelphia district attorney's office over a  million donation

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Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner sued Elon Musk and his political action committee on Monday to stop them from donating $1 million each day to a swing state registered voter who signs their petition.

“America PAC and Musk are luring citizens of Philadelphia – and others in the Commonwealth (and other swing states in the upcoming election) – to give up their personal identification information and make a political pledge in exchange for a chance to win a million dollars.” , it says about the legal complaint.

“America PAC and Musk’s lottery is clearly not a legitimate lottery,” the lawsuit says.

According to the complaint, the lottery violates Pennsylvania law, which requires all lotteries in the state to be regulated by the government. It also allegedly violates Pennsylvania consumer protection laws because Musk and his America PAC “have not published complete lottery rules or demonstrated how they protect the privacy of participants' personal information.”

Musk and the PAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Winner not by chance?

Petition signatories commit to supporting the First and Second Amendments, which address constitutional rights to freedom of speech, religion and firearms.

The lawsuit accuses Musk of falsely claiming that the winner was chosen at random and states that “several winners were chosen from people who showed up at Trump rallies in Pennsylvania.”

Musk publicly supports former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate.

Musk and the PAC also promised to pay $100 to registered voters who signed the petition, but prosecutors believe they failed to make those payments, the lawsuit says.

Department of Justice warning

According to a CNN report on Wednesday, the US Department of Justice has already sent the PAC a warning letter saying the giveaways could violate federal election law.

Federal law prohibits paying people to register to vote, and some legal experts say the lottery could violate that law because you have to be registered to sign the petition.

Musk didn't seem fazed by that warning last week. While the PAC did not announce a winner on Wednesday, it announced two winners on Thursday.

Krasner is asking the Philadelphia County Court of Common Appeals for an order that would prohibit Musk and his PAC from further engaging in “any unfair or deceptive acts or practices related to their lottery.”

By Vanessa

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