Twitter blocking by Trump is unconstitutional, appeals court rules
By Jessica Schneider and Katelyn Polantz, CNN
An appeals court said Tuesday that President Donald Trump violated the First Amendment by blocking users on Twitter.
The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a New York judge's ruling and found that Trump "engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination by utilizing Twitter's 'blocking' function to limit certain users' access to his social media account, which is otherwise open to the public at large, because he disagrees with their speech."
"We hold that he engaged in such discrimination," the ruling adds.
The judges on the appeals court concluded that "the First Amendment does not permit a public official who utilizes a social media account for all manner of official purposes to exclude persons from an otherwise-open online dialogue because they expressed views with which the official disagrees."
The challenge to Trump's unprecedented use of Twitter in office came from seven individuals he blocked, as well as the Knight First Amendment Institute, which argued that the President's personal account is an extension of his office.
The Justice Department argued in March that the President wasn't "wielding the power" of the federal government when he blocked certain individuals from his personal Twitter account, @realDonaldTrump, because while the President sends tweets in his official capacity, he blocks users as a personal matter.
But the appeals court disagreed with that view.
"The irony in all of this is that we write at a time in the history of this nation when the conduct of our government and its officials is subject to wide‐open, robust debate," they wrote. "This debate encompasses an extraordinarily broad range of ideas and viewpoints and generates a level of passion and intensity the likes of which have rarely been seen. This debate, as uncomfortable and as unpleasant as it frequently may be, is nonetheless a good thing. In resolving this appeal, we remind the litigants and the public that if the First Amendment means anything, it means that the best response to disfavored speech on matters of public concern is more speech, not less."
Tuesday's ruling affirms the position taken last year by a New York federal judge, who ruled that Trump had violated the Constitution when he blocked Twitter users.
US District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald wrote in her ruling that "no government official -- including the President -- is above the law, and all government officials are presumed to follow the law as has been declared."
AOC Hit With Set Of Lawsuits; One From A Democrat And Another From A Republican
By AMANDA PRESTIGIACOMO - The Daily Wire
https://i.imgur.com/kfEUo5gl.jpg
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s habit of blocking critics on Twitter has triggered two lawsuits against the young socialist, one from a Democrat and another from a Republican candidate.
Former New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind, a Democrat, told Fox News on Tuesday of his plans to sue AOC for blocking him and other critics on Twitter.
“I have decided, after speaking with my legal counsel, to initiate a lawsuit against her for blocking me and a host of other public figures,” the Democrat announced in a statement, according to Fox News.
“Ocasio-Cortez is acting cowardly and should be ashamed of her attempts to silence me. I’ve done nothing but address her ignorance and disregard for the truth. She constantly brags about the millions of followers she has but is afraid of my speech," he continued. "She is a hypocrite."
Hikind added, "I'm looking forward to the day where she has to unblock me so that free speech in America is guaranteed even when it offends!"
“The complaint seeks an injunction against Ocasio-Cortez, a declaration that she violated the First Amendment, and an award of attorney's fees,” Fox News reported.
Hikind will reportedly cite other critics who’ve been blocked by Ms. Ocasio-Cortez.
The Daily Wire’s Ryan Saavedra, for example, was blocked by AOC in April. Saavedra has nearly 275,000 followers and is consistently a top news account on Twitter.com.
AOC hit “block” on Saavedra soon after he posted a video of the elected Democrat so-called “code-switching” while talking to a predominately black audience.
"Ocasio-Cortez speaks in an accent that she never uses while telling a room of predominately black people that there is nothing wrong with them folding clothes, cooking, and driving other people around on a bus for a living," Saavedra captioned the video. The tweet racked up a stunning 40,000 likes.
Liz Wheeler, host of One America News Network’s “Tipping Point,” was blocked by Ocasio-Cortez earlier this month.
"Omg hahahah [AOC] blocked me!” Wheeler posted on July 5. “I am ALWAYS respectful & civil. I present facts only, nothing personal. Somebody is threatened by facts & the truth!”
The host was shut out after stating that Ocasio-Cortez voted “no” to a bill seeking to give humanitarian relief to migrants at the southern border, Wheeler said.
Popular conservative site The Daily Caller was blocked by AOC, too, according to Fox News.
NY-11 Congressional candidate Joey Saladino, a conservative, also announced Tuesday that he’d be filing suit against Ms. Ocasio-Cortez for blocking him on Twitter.
“Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, or ‘AOC’, blocked Joey ‘Salads’ Saladino shortly after announcing his candidacy for Congress around early May,” a press release from the candidate said, adding that “[p]olitical dialogue must occur across regional boundaries within the United States.”
“I’m suing AOC because we need to be able to have a strong and vigorous debate between the parties, otherwise our fragile system of ideas and representation breaks down,” Saladino said in a statement. “Though she is not in a position of power, she is the voice of her generation of Democrat voters, and bigger than some of the Presidential candidates.”
“If we can’t talk to one another, the whole system breaks down,” he argued. “Look what is happening in my district when entrenched NeverTrumpers are confronted by America First ideas. Like it or not we live in the same city and we need to be professional.”
The candidate is suing the elected Democrat in his own personal capacity, outside of his campaign.
The suits come in the wake of a federal appeals court ruling Tuesday that President Donald Trump is in violation of the Constitution when he blocks critics from viewing his tweets.
“Because Mr. Trump uses Twitter to conduct government business, he cannot exclude some Americans from reading his posts — and engaging in conversations in the replies to them — because he does not like their views, a three-judge panel on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in New York, ruled unanimously,” The New York Times reported.
