DENVER (AP) — A federal judge ruled last week that Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert does not have to unblock a former Democratic Colorado state lawmaker from her personal Twitter account.
U.S. District Court Judge Daniel D. Domenico said in his decision Thursday that Boebert, who represents the state’s 3rd Congressional District, did not violate the free speech rights of former state Rep. Bri Buentello because Boebert blocked Buentello from her personal Twitter account — and did not block Buentello from Boebert’s official government account, The Colorado Sun reported.
“Blocking a Twitter user on an account created before she was elected to office is something Ms. Boebert could do before she was in office and could do after she leaves office,” said Domenico, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump.
Buentello filed her lawsuit in January after she was blocked by Boebert after calling for Boebert’s recall following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Buentello’s lawyers argued that since Boebert uses her personal Twitter account to share official policy positions, it is unlawful for her to block constituents from seeing the account.
Although Domenico denied in his ruling a preliminary injunction for Boebert to unblock Buentello from the Twitter account, it’s not the final ruling on the case.
David Lane, an attorney representing Buentello, said they will make a decision on whether to continue litigating the case this week.
“It is a blow to our freedom of speech when a politician using a platform such as Twitter can block voices of dissent which she disagrees with and the courts won’t intervene to stop this First Amendment violation,” Lane said.
Boebert has links to the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory and has sought to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. She gained attention for pledging to carry a gun in the Capitol.
Buentello lives in Boebert’s district and served a single term in the state House of Representatives before losing a reelection bid last November.
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That makes sense—its just like personal email. Blocking someone from your personal account does not infringe on anyone’s free speech—they still have their own accounts through which to communicate. Twitter, as a platform—or any other Social Media platform—blocking users because they express Conservative views IS a problem.
BUT didn’t they rule the OPPOSITE when it came to Trump??
Good for U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, continue on with being a thorn in the Socialist Democrats side. Keep up your good work.
It is a shame I could not give this a (-)5 star rating. “…following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.” That was not even within a mile of being an insurrection, but a good example of a real “mostly peaceful demonstration”. Unfortunately an unarmed protestor was murdered by a as of yet, unidentified person who may have been a police officer.
sorry Domineco, but if the Supreme Court told Trump that he couldnt block people from his twitter account, then what makes you think for a second that you can overturn a US Supreme Court decision in this case?