Justice Department asks Supreme Court to let Trump block Twitter criticism



[ad_1]

On Thursday, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to overturn the lower court’s decision and give President Donald Trump the ability to block his criticism on Twitter.
The petition aims to revive a case decided by a New York federal judge in 2018. At the time, Judge Naomi Buchwald said Trump violated the First Amendment when he sought to quell his criticism online because parties of his Twitter account were considered a public forum. A panel of three judges upheld the decision on appeal.
Thursday’s petition to the Supreme Court argues that the lower courts were wrong.

“The president uses his account to speak to the public, not to give members of the public a forum to speak with him and with each other,” the petition reads.

Trump's Twitter blocking violates Constitution and appeals court rules

The Knight First Amendment Institute, which brought the original case, said the court should dismiss the petition.

“This case represents a fundamental principle for our democracy: government officials cannot suppress speech just because they disagree with its message,” Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the organization, said in a statement.

[ad_2]

Source link