News

Court Rules That First Amendment Prevents Trump From Blocking Critics On Twitter

A federal appeals court has ruled that President Donald Trump cannot block individuals who criticized his policies from seeing his Twitter account as it violates the First Amendment.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, one of the most liberal appeals courts in the country alongside the 9th Circuit in California, upheld the decision of a lower court which said that Trump violates the Constitution when he blocks critics. “The irony in all of this is that we write at a time in the history of this nation when the conduct of our government and its officials is subject to wide-open, robust debate,” Circuit Judge Barrington D. Parker wrote, speaking for the whole three-judge panel.

The court wrote in its decision that the president’s tweets created a wide-reaching, robust discussion and that by blocking critics he was preventing them from joining in that conversation, thereby infringing on their freedom of speech. “This debate, as uncomfortable and as unpleasant as it frequently may be, is nonetheless a good thing,” the 2nd Circuit added. “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 government had argued that the president’s Twitter account was created when he was a private citizen and that by tweeting he was acting outside of his official capacity. Judge Parker expressed criticism of those arguments when they were made earlier this year. “Are you seriously urging us to believe that the president is not acting in his official capacity when he is tweeting?” said the judge. He continued by noting that Trump was preventing citizens from participating in a national discussion, saying, “Why isn’t that just a quintessential First Amendment violation?”

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!

A week of political news in your in-box.
We find the news you need to know, so you don't have to.

Daniel Knopf

Recent Posts

Democrats Attack Green Party Nominee Jill Stein In New Ad

A new ad about Green Party candidate Jill Stein has been released by Vice President Kamala Harris'…

11 hours ago

Jennifer Lopez Says Trump ‘Offended Every Latino In The Country’ With MSG Joke At Harris Rally

https://youtu.be/inbJpo6D4BQ Jennifer Lopez, campaigning with Kamala Harris on Oct. 31 in Nevada, said Donald Trump’s…

11 hours ago

Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn Says ‘Gates Of Hell’ Will Be Opened On Opponents If Trump Is Reelected

Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn declared that the "gates of hell" would be unleashed if former…

2 days ago

VIDEO: Kamala Harris Hugs First Person In Line For Her Ellipse Rally, Chats With Her Mom

https://youtu.be/JQCdk-71tG0 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris met with the woman who was the first in…

2 days ago

VIDEO: Harris Vows To Put ‘Country Above Party’ In Front Of 75,000 People At The Ellipse

https://youtu.be/xc72fdqkaVc Vice President Kamala Harris vowed to put “country above party and above self” as…

3 days ago

Trump-Friendly Judge Aileen Cannon In The Running For Attorney General If Former President Wins Second Term

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has reportedly been placed on a list of potential attorney general candidates…

3 days ago