A state judge has dismissed Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s counterclaim that two Democratic legislators tried to silence him over his controversial plan to deputize armed citizens.
State Supreme Court Justice Gary M. Carlton ruled there was no legal basis for Blakeman’s argument that the lawsuit was a “strategic lawsuit against public participation,” or SLAPP. Carlton said New York’s anti-SLAPP law protects citizens from retaliation for exercising free speech — not public officials defending government actions.
Legislators Debra Mule and Scott Davis sued earlier this year, arguing Blakeman’s proposal to deputize licensed gun owners as emergency “special deputies” was unlawful.