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JEFFERSON CITY 鈥� A federal judge has blocked Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey from pursuing his prosecution of a media watchdog group that got crosswise with social media company owner Elon Musk.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta issued a Thursday blocking Bailey from enforcing the case he brought against Media Matters for America last spring.

Bailey launched his investigation into the advocacy group in December, arguing it manufactured a report that showed advertisers鈥� social media posts on the Musk-owned platform appearing alongside neo-Nazi and white nationalist posts.

Mehta鈥檚 decision appears to bring an end to a case pending in Cole County Circuit Court. Records show a trial is scheduled for Oct. 18.

An attorney representing Media Matters in the Missouri case did not respond to a request for comment.

A spokeswoman for Bailey could not be reached for comment.

The judge鈥檚 ruling marks the latest legal setback for Bailey, who is running for a full term as attorney general in 2024 against Democrat Elad Gross.

Like his predecessors Sens. Eric Schmitt and Josh Hawley, Bailey has tried to raise his statewide profile by weighing in on culture war issues and filing lawsuits against the White House.

Last year, Bailey was rebuffed by the Missouri Supreme Court for his attempt to derail an abortion rights referendum from being placed on the November ballot.

The high court found he did not have authority to insert himself into the case.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court dumped Bailey鈥檚 attempt to remove a gag order in former President Donald Trump鈥檚 hush-money case and delay his sentencing in New York.

In the Media Matters case, Bailey鈥檚 actions are similar to allegations laid out in a lawsuit filed by X, which alleges that Media Matters manipulated algorithms on the platform so the paid posts by advertisers appeared next to racist content.

Bailey said the organization may have violated Missouri laws by using fraud to solicit donations from Missourians.

Media Matters has called the lawsuit by X 鈥渇rivolous鈥� and has said it stands by its work.

Mehta鈥檚 decision against Bailey is similar to one he made in April when he blocked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from pursing a similar case.

In that decision, the judge wrote that Media Matters鈥� investigative journalism and reporting 鈥渁re core First Amendment activities,鈥� and any 鈥渓oss of First Amendment freedoms, for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury.鈥�

At the core of the fight was a report published by Media Matters showing that advertisements by IBM, Apple, Oracle and Comcast鈥檚 Xfinity were being placed alongside antisemitic content, including content that praised Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Top advertisers pulled their ads off of X, triggering a lawsuit by Elon Musk鈥檚 company against the advocacy group.

Musk purchased the site formerly known as Twitter in 2022 and terminated some of the platform鈥檚 rules against misinformation. That led to a decision by some companies to stop advertising on X.