Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is facing 2 lawsuits for blocking Twitter users based on their personal viewpoints.
Details: Former Democratic New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind filed a suit against Ocasio-Cortez after a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that President Trump violated the Constitution in blocking critics on Twitter. YouTuber and NY-11 Republican Congressional candidate Joey Saladino tweeted he'd also filed a suit against the freshman lawmaker after she blocked him.
No one is above the law. If the courts ruled POTUS can’t block people on Twitter, why would @AOC think she can get away with silencing her critics? pic.twitter.com/Ea498kTWEs
— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) July 9, 2019
What they're saying: Hivkind told Fox News the claim, which targets Ocasio-Cortez's personal account, is the same as the one against Trump. "She uses that account for political/policy commentary, so to shut a citizen off from her statements is a problem — as well as blocking me from petitioning her or seeking redress," he told the news outlet.
- A spokesperson for Saladino — who's been called racist for his YouTube stunts targeting African-American people — said in a statement to Fox News that Ocasio-Cortez's decision to block him was "unprovoked."
- The spokesperson critcized what they referred to as "digital feudalism, which those on the left seem enthusiastic about — completely antithetical to the American Nation."
I have officially filed my lawsuit against AOC for blocking me on twitter.
— Saladino for Congress (@JoeySalads) July 9, 2019
Trump is not allowed to block people, will the standards apply equally?
Stay tuned to find out! pic.twitter.com/0RmHI7x9Qc
Why it matters: The ruling in Trump's case set a precedent that any elected official — from a local mayor to the president — who blocks a constituent on Twitter could be found guilty of violating that constituent's First Amendment rights, Axios' Sara Fischer notes.
Go deeper: Trump's unexpected 1st Amendment legacy
