ACLU Joins Free Speech Case Against Arizona Congressman

PHOENIX, AZ – The American Civil Liberties Union is representing a Kingman woman suing a Arizona congressman who blocked her from his Facebook page. The lawsuit against Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Flagstaff) was filed in September by J'aime Morgaine.

Morgaine, a frequent critic of Gosar, says that Gosar has deleted or censored comments she made on his Facebook page.

Darren Hill, a staff attorney for the ACLU, says that Gosar's actions violated Morgaine's First Amendment rights.

“We took up this case because public officials who intentionally open up their social media for public conversation can’t stop people from joining in because of the views they express on the topics at hand," Hill said.

"As our democracy increasingly moves online, we must fight to ensure the Constitution applies with no less force on the internet than it does offline."

They joined the suit earlier this month.

Gosar maintains he has done nothing wrong.

"Your First Amendment rights are fully intact," he wrote on Facebook. "If you think a block on Facebook is infringing upon your constitutional right to petition the government, you are sorely mistaken.

"You want to petition the government? Terrific. Call my office and file a complaint."

A similar federal case is being heard in the Southern District of New York where the Knight First Amendment Institute is challenging President Trump's ability to block people on Twitter.

"Though the architects of the Constitution surely didn’t contemplate presidential Twitter accounts, they understood that the President must not be allowed to banish views from public discourse simply because he finds them objectionable, the institute's executive director, Jameel Jeffer said at the time.

"Having opened this forum to all comers, the President can’t exclude people from it merely because he dislikes what they’re saying."

Photo via the office of Rep. Gosar.