A former state legislator filed a lawsuit against Repbublican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert of Colorado, alleging that she violated the First Amendment by blocking voters on Twitter.
Boebert blocked at least 12 people on Twitter, with most accounts belonging to constituents residing in Colorado’s 3rd congressional district, according to Colorado Politics.
Former Democratic state deputy Bri Buentello, one of the blocked constituents, sued Boebert in federal court on Sunday for violating his freedom of expression rights. In the lawsuit, filed by attorney David Lane at the United States District Court in Denver, Buentello said she was blocked by the Twitter account @laurenboebert after calling the House Republican’s actions seditious.
Boebert prevented Buentello “from seeing his Twitter account, responding to his tweets or otherwise getting involved with those who interact in the responses to his tweets,” according to the lawsuit.
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Buentello is seeking an injunction ordering Boebert to stop violating the Constitution “she has taken an oath to ‘preserve, protect and defend'” by unlocking her district’s critics.
Jeff Small, Boebert’s chief of staff, said Newsweek that the deputy adviser “will not comment on any pending legislation”.
Buentello said Boebert “is not without criticism” in a Sunday interview with Colorado Politics. “I know this better than most as a former MP. My hope is that she will wake up one day and stop stepping on the First Amendment and stop blocking people,” she said.
In a statement on Sunday, Lane said: “Our client, Brianna Buentello, is a former elected state legislator who lives in the Boebert district and is very concerned that Boebert has no knowledge or concern for the United States Constitution other than the notion of that somehow everyone can carry weapons anywhere they want. Boebert blocked Buentello, along with many other people, who are critical of his authoritarian policy. “
Lane referred to a similar case filed in New York against President Donald Trump. “Boebert didn’t learn that lesson,” he said.
In 2018, a federal court judge ruled that it was unconstitutional for Trump to block people on Twitter because of his differing political views. New York City judge Naomi Reice Buchwald ruled that the president’s personal accounts on social media and other government officials were public forums and that blocking critics was a violation of the First Amendment.
Days after the decision, Eugene Gu and Brandon Neely, two plaintiffs who were blocked by Trump, said Newsweek that the president has not yet fulfilled the decision. He finally unlocked the critics weeks later.
On January 8, Twitter permanently banned Trump from his services after the Capitol siege that left five dead.