President Donald Trump may have incited violence at a campaign rally and can be sued for it, a federal judge has ruled.

According to the Associated Press, a lawsuit says three protesters were roughed up by Trump supporters at a March 1, 2016, event in Louisville, Kentucky. Two women and a man say they were punched and shoved because Trump encouraged his audience to use violence.

The incident was captured on video and showed Trump pointing at the protesters, repeating "get them out."

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

Lawyers for Trump argued a free speech defense on behalf of the then-Republican presidential candidate. They argued that Trump didn't intend for his supporters to use force.

Judge David J. Hale in Louisville ruled Friday that the lawsuit can proceed, noting that speech inciting violence is not protected by the First Amendment. According to the Washington Post, Hale said Trump, his campaign and three of his supporters can be sued because protesters were injured as a "direct and proximate result" of Trump's words.

"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."

One of the attackers, Alvin Bamberger, later apologized to the Korean War Veterans Association after wearing their uniform 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.

According to the AP, Hale also declined to remove allegations that one of the three plaintiffs, an African-American woman named Kashiya Nwanguma, was the victim of racial, ethnic and sexist slurs from the crowd. This context may support the plaintiffs' claims of negligence and incitement by 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," Hale wrote.

The judge additionally declined a request by another accused attacker, Matthew Heimbach, to dismiss his alleged association with a white nationalist group. Hale said it could be important context when determining punitive damages.

Trump's team has repeatedly argued his words shouldn't be taken literally, but the Post notes that argument hasn't held up in other court proceedings. Trump's proposed travel bans on several Muslim-majority countries have been repeatedly rejected due to Trump calling for a "Muslim ban" and supporting comments by advisers Rudy Giuliani and Stephen Miller.