Appeals Court Rules Trump Violated Constitution By Blocking Critics On Twitter

It isn’t uncommon for social media users to block comments or accounts they don’t like, but for the President of the United States, it’s unacceptable.

On Tuesday, a federal appeals court decided that Donald Trump can’t block his critics on Twitter because it is a violation of the First Amendment.

In 2017, Trump allegedly blocked seven plaintiffs from the original case after they “criticized him or his policies,” revoking their ability to access or comment on his posts, according to court documents. 

Tuesday’s decision revealed that “the First Amendment prohibits government discrimination against a person’s free speech,” but Trump argued that the First Amendment didn’t apply because his page was private at the time. Now, he is expected to appeal the ruling.

However, the gag is that since Trump’s Twitter account is no longer private, it is considered a “public forum,” Fox News reports. The First Amendment does not allow a public official who uses a social media account to conduct government business “to exclude people from an otherwise open online dialogue because they express different views.”

The court concluded that despite Trump’s claims, blocking Americans not only suppresses free speech but discourages the idea of debate.

“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,” the court said.

Retonjah Burdette

Retonjah Burdette is a publicist and published content curator from Atlanta, Georgia. After receiving her Bachelor’s in Public Relations from Georgia Southern University in 2017, Burdette then went on to get field experience with one of the top entertainment PR firms in Atlanta. Since the start of her career, Burdette has worked with a number of actors, authors, entrepreneurs and independent artists. She has secured placements on media outlets such as TV One’s Sister Circle, Good Day Atlanta on FOX, V-103, CBS 46, Kontrol Magazine, KISS 104.1 and Rolling Out to name a few. In addition to her growth in PR, she is currently a writer for Baller Alert, a top platform for news and entertainment. In hopes of bringing the visions of others to life, she launched Girl Avant-Garde in 2019, a creative agency specializing in innovative content, branding and PR in entertainment. Her overall goal is to have autonomy over her creative thought process and to teach branding to new entrepreneurs and others pursuing a career in the public eye.

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