A federal judge has rejected US President Donald Trump’s free speech defence against a lawsuit accusing him of inciting violence against protesters during his campaign. Picture: Evan Vucci/AP

But it is these three words issued at a campaign rally last March which have come back to haunt US President Donald Trump in a big way.

Protesters who were injured at an election rally claim they were roughed up by Mr Trump’s supporters after he said the words “get them out.”

A federal judge has ruled their injuries were as a direct result of Mr Trump’s command.

The President’s lawyers sought to dismiss the lawsuit by three protesters who claim they were roughed up by his supporters at a March 1, 2016 rally in Louisville, Kentucky.

They argued that Mr Trump didn’t intend for his supporters to use force.

However Federal Judge David J Hale in Louisville ruled on Friday that the suit against Mr Trump, his campaign and three of his supporters can proceed.

Judge Hale also rejected Mr Trump’s free speech defence against the lawsuit which accuses him of inciting violence against protesters during his campaign.

Two women and a man say they were shoved and punched by audience members at Mr Trump’s command.

Much of it was captured on video and widely broadcast during the campaign, showing Mr Trump pointing at the protesters and repeating “get them out.”

Judge Hale found ample facts supporting allegations that the protesters’ injuries were a “direct and proximate result” of Mr Trump’s actions, and noted that the Supreme Court has ruled out constitutional protections for speech that incites violence.

“It is plausible that Trump’s direction to ‘get ‘em out of here’ advocated the use of force,” the judge wrote.

“It was an order, an instruction, a command.”

Donald Trump, pictured during last year’s rally in Louisville, Kentucky, where he pointed at protesters and told supporters to “get them out”. Picture: John Bazemore/APSource:AP

Plaintiffs Kashiya Nwanguma, Molly Shah and Henry Brousseau allege that they were physically attacked by several members of the audience, including Matthew Heimbach, Alvin Bamberger and an unnamed defendant they have yet to be able to identify.

Bamberger later apologised to the Korean War Veterans Association, whose uniform he wore at the rally.

He wrote that he “physically pushed a young woman down the aisle toward the exit” after “Trump kept saying ‘get them out, get them out,” according to the lawsuit.

Heimbach, for his part, sought to dismiss the lawsuit’s discussion of his association with a white nationalist group and of statements he made about how Mr Trump could advance the group’s interests.

The judge declined, saying such information could be important context when determining punitive damages.

The judge also declined to remove allegations that Nwanguma, an African- American, was the victim of racial, ethnic and sexist slurs from the crowd at the rally.

This context may support the plaintiffs’ claims of negligence and incitement by Mr Trump and his campaign, the judge said.

“While the words themselves are repulsive, they are relevant to show the atmosphere in which the alleged events occurred,” Judge Hale wrote.

Lawyers for Mr Trump and his campaign also argued that they cannot be held liable because they had no duty to the plaintiffs, who assumed the risk of injury when they decided to protest at the rally.

The judge countered that under the law, every person has a duty to every other person to use care to prevent foreseeable injury.

“In sum, the Court finds that Plaintiffs have adequately alleged that their harm was foreseeable and that the Trump Defendants had a duty to prevent it,” the judge ruled, referring the case to a federal magistrate, Judge H Brent Brennenstuhl, to handle preliminary litigation, discovery and settlement efforts.

IMPEACHMENT CALL

The lawsuit is just the latest blow to Mr Trump after a Massachusetts city is deliberating weighing whether to call for an impeachment investigation into Mr Trump.

Cambridge Vice Mayor Marc McGovern has filed a policy order for Monday’s city council meeting pushing for an investigation.

The proposed order calls on the US House to back a resolution directing the Judiciary Committee to investigate whether there are grounds to impeach Mr Trump.

Mr McGovern and others believe Mr Trump has violated the emoluments clause of the US Constitution that prohibits government officials from profiting from foreign businesses.

Mr McGovern said he believes the Republican president is still deeply involved in his business operations.

Cambridge voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton in the presidential election.

The city is across the Charles River from Boston, and is home to Harvard University.