A former U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant, who was accused of making threats on social media to assassinate President Donald Trump by stating “When he dies, the party is going to be yuge,” is now released from custody and back at home. This decision comes despite the Justice Department’s objections and their desire to keep him incarcerated.

“The weight of the evidence, on a scale from one to 10, let’s just say it’s not on the side of 10,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Ivan D. Davis remarked on Wednesday, as reported by local CBS affiliate WUSA. Judge Davis ordered the release of Peter Stinson, 63, who will now be under home detention in Oakton, Virginia.

Stinson’s public defenders had argued in court filings that he “poses no risk of flight or danger to the community” — claiming his comments were “political hyperbole” and not “true” threats against the president.

“While the government characterizes these posts as ‘threats,’ they constitute political advocacy that the First Amendment was squarely designed to protect,” wrote Stinson’s legal team in a memorandum for pretrial release.

They claim that Stinson’s statements lack the “specificity, imminence, and likelihood of producing lawless action” required to fall outside constitutional protection. His speech, instead, falls “squarely” within the realm of protected political advocacy, per the release memo.

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“Significantly, the scope of First Amendment protection for political speech — even speech that could be construed as encouraging violence — has been demonstrated by statements from political figures across the spectrum, including President Donald Trump, who has made similar statements that encourage violence against political opponents without facing criminal prosecution,” Stinson’s lawyers said. They point out instances where Trump said things in the past, including comments about Hillary Clinton and warnings in 2023 of “potential death and destruction” if he were to be criminally charged.

“In 2016, for example, then-candidate Trump stated about Hillary Clinton: ‘If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people — maybe there is, I don’t know,'” Stinson’s team highlighted. “This statement, which could be construed as encouraging violence against a political opponent, was widely criticized but also recognized as protected political speech.”