A Virginia federal court ruled that a politician violated the free speech rights of one of her constituents when she blocked him from her Facebook page—a ruling that may have an impact on an ongoing lawsuit involving President Donald Trump.
Phyllis Randall, the chair of the Loudon County Board of Supervisors in New York, was sued by Brian Davison after he was temporarily banned from her Facebook page after he posted criticism of local officials, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Randall, who asked residents of Loudon County to reach out to her on the page, deleted a comment Randall made and blocked him, before unblocking him 12 hours later. Randall sued, alleging that his free speech rights had been violated.
“Defendant’s actions, while relatively inconsequential as a practical matter, did in fact violate Plaintiff’s right of free speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, § 12 of the Constitution of Virginia,” Judge James C. Cacheris wrote in his decision, adding that the consequences of Randall’s actions were “fairly minor.”
The case is similar to one that was recently filed against Trump.
The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and a group of Twitter users who were blocked by Trump on the social media platform sued him earlier this month, arguing that his public Twitter account is a public forum that the Constitution guarantees them access to.
The suit claims Trump’s Twitter feed is an “important public forum for speech by, to, and about the President,” and therefore blocking people from seeing it made them “deprived of their right to read the speech of the dissenters who have been blocked.”
Social media has been at the center of a number of cases recently—including at the foot of the Supreme Court.
In June the court ruled in Packingham v. North Carolina that using social media was a constitutional right.
“A fundamental principle of the First Amendment is that all persons have access to places where they can speak and listen, and then, after reflection, speak and listen once more,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the court’s decision. “Even in the modern era, these places are still essential venues for public gatherings to celebrate some views, to protest others, or simply to learn and inquire.”
