A West Virginia local judge elected last year is being suspended for two years for a photoshopped campaign advertisement—published on his Facebook page and elsewhere—that depicted his opponent drinking beer with then-President Barack Obama.

Nicholas County Circuit Judge Stephen Callaghan's suspension is without pay, and it includes a $15,000 fine. It was imposed (PDF) Thursday by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. Incumbent Judge Gary Johnson lost by 220 votes in a May election.

In filing ethics charges against Callaghan, the West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission said the ad was meant to “deceive voters into believing that Judge Johnson and U.S. President Barack Obama were drinking beer and partying at the White House while conniving with one another to kill coal mining jobs in Nicholas County.” The decision notes that Johnson did attend a conference at the White House in 2015, but the visit concerned ways to combat child trafficking. The opinion said Obama was not there at the time and that Johnson and Obama have never met.

The opinion, written by retired Supreme Court Justice Thomas McHugh, said Callaghan's "conduct violated fundamental and solemn principles regarding the integrity of the judiciary. His egregious behavior warrants substantial discipline." The opinion said that Callaghan "directly and methodically targeted an opponent with fabricated material and disseminated it to the electorate."

State ethics rules say, "A lawyer shall not make a statement that the lawyer knows to be false or with reckless disregard as to its truth or falsity concerning the qualifications or integrity of a judge, adjudicatory officer or public legal officer, or of a candidate for election or appointment to judicial or legal office."

The campaign mailer in question was published five days before the May election. It contains photoshopped pictures of Obama, who is holding a beer. Obama appears next to the incumbent, with party streamers in the background.

The other side of the advertisement read:

While Nicholas County lost hundreds of jobs to Barack Obama’s coal policies, Judge Gary Johnson accepted an invitation from Obama to come to the White House to support Obama’s legislative agenda. That same month, news outlets reported a 76% drop in coal mining employment. Can we trust Judge Gary Johnson to defend Nicholas County against job-killer Barack Obama?

Callaghan removed the mailer from his Facebook page after Johnson objected. Callaghan also took out radio spots, in which he said that the "specific characterization of the White House visit may be inaccurate and misleading" and that he "apologizes for any misunderstanding or inaccuracies."

The suspended judge has filed a First Amendment lawsuit, (PDF) saying his advertisement was a protected "form of hyperbole or parody." That suit is pending.