Lauren Boebert sued for blocking voters on Twitter: ‘First Amendment trampling’

A former state lawmaker has filed a lawsuit against Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert of Colorado, alleging she violated the First Amendment by blocking voters on Twitter.

Boebert blocked at least 12 people on Twitter, most of the accounts belonging to voters residing in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, according to Colorado Politics.

Former Democratic State Representative Bri Buentello, one of the stranded voters, sued Boebert in federal court on Sunday for violating his rights to free speech. In the lawsuit, filed by attorney David Lane in Denver U.S. District Court, Buentello said she was blocked by the @laurenboebert Twitter account after calling the House Republican’s actions seditious.

Boebert blocked Buentello “from checking his Twitter account, replying to his tweets, or otherwise engaging with those who interact in replies to his tweets,” according to the lawsuit.

Buentello seeks a preliminary injunction ordering Boebert to stop violating the Constitution “she has sworn to” preserve, protect and defend “” by unblocking criticism of her district.

Jeff Small, chief of staff at Boebert, said Newsweek that the congressman’s office “will not comment on any pending legislation.”

Buentello claimed Boebert was “not above criticism” in an interview on Sunday with Colorado Politics. “I know this better than anyone as a former rep myself. I hope she wakes up one day and stops trampling on the First Amendment and stops blocking people,” she said.

In a statement on Sunday, Lane said: “Our client, Brianna Buentello, is a former elected state lawmaker who lives in the Boebert district and is very concerned that Boebert has no knowledge of the Constitution of The United States neither cares about the anyone can carry guns anywhere they choose. Boebert has blocked Buentello, along with many others, who criticize his authoritarian policies. “

Lane referred to a similar case filed in New York against President Donald Trump. “Boebert did not learn this lesson,” he said.

In 2018, a Federal Court judge ruled that it was unconstitutional for Trump to block people on Twitter because of their dissenting political views. Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in New York ruled that the president’s personal social media accounts and those of other government officials were public forums and that the criticism block was in violation of the First Amendment.

Days after the ruling, Eugene Gu and Brandon Neely, two plaintiffs blocked by Trump, said Newsweek that the president still had not complied with the ruling. He finally unblocked reviews weeks later.

On January 8, Twitter permanently banned Trump from his services following the siege on Capitol Hill that left five people dead.