SHOT: Trump can’t block Twitter followers, federal judge says
President Donald Trump cannot block users on his Twitter feed, a federal judge in New York City ruled Wednesday. Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald said in her ruling that Trump is violating the U.S. Constitution by preventing certain Americans from viewing his tweets on @realDonaldTrump. The social media platform, Buchwald said, is a “designated public forum” from which Trump cannot exclude individual plaintiffs. She rejected an argument by the Justice Department that the president had a right to block Twitter followers because of his “associational freedoms.”
… “This case requires us to consider whether a public official may, consistent with the First Amendment, ‘block’ a person from his Twitter account in response to the political views that person has expressed, and whether the analysis differs because that public official is the President of the United States,” Buchwald said said in her opinion.
“The answer to both questions is no.”
CHASER: Schmidt just blocked me on Facebook
NH State Rep Jan Schmidt (Progressive-Nashua) , if you don’t know by now, is an Alderman in Nashua and is quite active in a Facebook group called Nashua Politics. At least I think she still is. I have to guess because one moment, I could see her posts/comments……and the next, I couldn’t. I’ve been banned from her feed. At least I think so.
Sure, I was a n00b in that group, mostly over the Doris Hohensee / Nashua School Board (that’s right, I have more to do on that!) but she was there and I left a couple of replies for her. She did say, in one comment, that none of us at GraniteGrok knew the differences between communism, socialism, and free markets. I’d actually like perfer to post it but alas, I can’t see it anymore.
But the standard has already been set – hey, Jan Schmidt, are you better than President Trump? Oh, sorry, I should have known better – of course you think you are. But given, I bet, that you think he operates above The Law, you must of yelped with glee a year ago when the Court said he couldn’t block people on Twitter. Keeping him within The Law – I bet your head went up and down as you muttered “yep, that *#)$)#( deserved that.
Well GUESS WHAT! Twitter, Facebook – same deal just different character limits. They both are “a designated public forum”. And you, too, are an elected official. And you, too, are also subject to The Law (just ask Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald). Therefore:
From: “Skip” <Skip@GraniteGrok.com>
To: Jan.Schmidt@leg.state.nh.us
Sent: 6/14/2019 3:29:53 PM
Subject: Facebook blockage
Ms. Schmidt,
Give the precedent set by Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in ruling that President Trump cannot block Twitter users from his feed given the First Amendment, and that you have blocke me on Facebook, I, too, should no longer be banned from your Facebook feed.
Both Twitter and Facebook are “designated public forums”, both you and President Trump are elected officials. The electorate can interact with their Representatives (even if they never vote for them) but only if they have access to their account actions.
Thus, given this ruling last year that ensures that the entire electorate should and must have access in “public forms” to elected officials, I expect to be returned to your Facebook feed in its entirety.
Kindest regard,
– Skip
GraniteGrok.com
Oh, by the way, this is only the first post. The next one concerning Jan Schmidt will be far more interesting. Although I am wondering how Jan Schmidt is being put into the same post (and legal boat) as President Trump?
