Utah Judge Suspended 6 Months For Criticizing Trump

A Utah judge was suspended without pay for six months for criticizing President Trump in court and on Facebook, CNN reports.

The Utah Supreme Court ruled to suspended Judge Michael Kwan, writing that his Facebook posts were "laden with blunt, and sometimes indelicate, criticism" of Trump.

The posts since Trump’s 2016 campaign began reference the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump brags about grabbing unconsenting women “by the pussy” and calls his presidency a “fascist takeover.”

"Judge Kwan's behavior denigrates his reputation as an impartial, independent, dignified, and courteous jurist who takes no advantage of the office in which he serves," the state Supreme Court ruled. "And it diminishes the reputation of our entire judiciary."

Kwan has served as a justice court judge in Utah for the past two decades.

Kwan is the son of immigrants who fled persecution:

Kwan’s attorney Gregory Skordas told CNN that Kwan was “disappointed with the ruling but not necessarily surprised."

Kwan, the son of Chinese immigrants who fled persecution, was alarmed by Trump’s policies.

Skordas said that Kwan “ felt that his overriding message was on policies and not candidates."

"He is a beloved man and his passion for his culture is what got him in trouble," Skordas said. "We probably have no recourse but to sit out the six months and hope that he still has a court to preside over when that period has lapsed."

Kwan railed against Trump online:

Kwan repeatedly hit out at Trump on his Facebook page.

"Will you dig your heels in and spend the next four years undermining our country's reputation and standing in the world?” he wrote on the day of Trump’s inauguration. “Will you continue to demonstrate your inability to govern and political incompetence?"

"Welcome to the beginning of the fascist takeover," he wrote a few weeks later, questioning whether Republicans would "be the American Reichstag and refuse to stand up for the Constitution.”

Kwan also joked about Trump’s tax cuts and proposed border wall in court.

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