Ocasio Cortez Sued
Source: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
After President Trump was banned from blocking his opponents on Twitter, other lawmakers are feeling the heat.
Jan 28, 2021 Ocasio-Cortez declined Cruz’s invitation to bipartisanship, however, on the grounds that the Texas senator “almost had me murdered 3 weeks ago” by lending credence to bogus claims of voter. Jul 10, 2019 After a federal court ruled that it's unconstitutional for President Donald Trump to block users on Twitter, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been hit with two lawsuits by a pair of politicians. News Donald Trump Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Ilhan Omar Twitter A California man is suing Twitter and two progressive congresswomen in connection with President Donald Trump 's suspension from the. Former lawmaker Dov Hikind (D) and congressional hopeful Joseph Saladino (R) announced they would be suing Ocasio-Cortez for blocking them on Twitter. They seek a court order demanding that they. Dec 16, 2020 Ocasio-Cortez voted for Pelosi as speaker in 2019 and her support is needed again with a narrower Democratic majority due to Nov. Democrats are expected to hold 222 seats to Republicans.
Specifically, Democratic socialist and freshman congresswoman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
Former lawmaker Dov Hikind (D) and congressional hopeful Joseph Saladino (R) announced they would be suing Ocasio-Cortez for blocking them on Twitter. They seek a court order demanding that they be unblocked.
The two lawsuits come after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled that Trump can’t block his opponents on Twitter because the First Amendment does not allow public officials to exclude people from the online dialogue taking place on their social media.
I have officially filed my lawsuit against AOC for blocking me on twitter.
Trump is not allowed to block people, will the standards apply equally?
Stay tuned to find out! pic.twitter.com/0RmHI7x9Qc
Saladino filed the lawsuit in the Southern District of New York. Hikind's suit is in the Eastern District.
In an interview with Fox News, Hikind pointed to the Trump ruling and said the standards should be applied equally to all government officials.
The Interesting Development with the Biden Plan to Slash the Trump Tax Cuts'Just today the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a ruling that elected officials cannot block individuals from their Twitter accounts, thereby setting a precedent that Ocasio-Cortez must follow,' Hikind told the network. 'Twitter is a public space, and all should have access to the government officials on it.' (The Hill)
Ocasio-Cortez has yet to respond to the pending cases.
- Tags:
An appeals court ruling has spurred multiple lawsuits against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) from individuals who say the lawmaker blocked their accounts on Twitter.
One of the plaintiffs, Republican congressional candidate Joseph Saladino, is seeking “injunctive relief from the court” so that he could be unblocked by the congresswoman’s official account.
“I have officially filed my lawsuit against AOC for blocking me on twitter,” Saladino said in a July 9 Twitter post. “Trump is not allowed to block people, will the standards apply equally? Stay tuned to find out!”
I have officially filed my lawsuit against AOC for blocking me on twitter.
Trump is not allowed to block people, will the standards apply equally?
Stay tuned to find out! pic.twitter.com/0RmHI7x9Qc
— Saladino for Congress (@JoeySalads) July 9, 2019
In a separate Twitter post, Saladino shared a screenshot of his account trying to view the profile of Ocasio-Cortez.
Here is screenshot for reference pic.twitter.com/ygb1QyH5Ht
— Saladino for Congress (@JoeySalads) July 10, 2019
The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on July 9 that President Donald Trump violated the First Amendment when he blocked users from viewing and commenting on his Twitter messages.
The court determined that the president’s Twitter account is an official rather than a personal account, making his use of Twitter’s blocking feature akin to a government official excluding people he or she doesn’t agree with from a public forum.
The original court ruling references several instances in which members of the administration described Trump’s use of the account as official, including a June 2017 statement by former White House press secretary Sean Spicer saying the president’s Twitter messages should be considered as “official statements by the President of the United States.”
As Ocasio-Cortez is also a public official, the recent court ruling would similarly apply. Her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a separate lawsuit filed by Dov Hikind—the founder of Americans Against Anti-Semitism—the plaintiff described how he criticized the congresswoman on multiple occasions before he got blocked. Her Twitter handle is @AOC.
“In an effort to suppress contrary views, Defendant has excluded Twitter users who have criticized AOC and her positions as a Congresswoman via “blocking,” the lawsuit states. “This practice is unconstitutional and must end.”
Hikind’s lawsuit also mentioned other people on Twitter who had been blocked by the congresswoman after they criticized her. On-air personality Elizabeth Wheeler, Jewish journalist Harry Cherry, Daily Wire reporter Ryan Saavedra, and political group “Students for Trump”—have all been blocked by Ocasio-Cortez, according to the lawsuit.
Trump’s attorneys had argued that his Twitter account is a personal one. The court wasn’t convinced, writing in the opinion that the account’s landing page bears “all the trappings of an official state‐run account.”
“We are disappointed with the court’s decision and are exploring possible next steps,” said Kelly Laco, a spokeswoman for the Department of Justice.
The lawsuit also named Dan Scavino, Trump’s director of social media, as a defendant.
The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and seven users blocked by Trump challenged the president’s use of the blocking feature in court.
Ocasio Cortez Student Loan Debt
The appellate court decision upheld a ruling made by District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in Manhattan in May 2018, which prompted Trump to unblock some accounts. The Justice Department called Reice Buchwald’s ruling “fundamentally misconceived,” arguing that Trump used Twitter to express his views, not to offer a public forum for discussion.
Ocasio-cortez Net Worth
Ivan Pentchoukov contributed to this report