Like Trump, Chatham Twp. Mayor Criticized For Facebook Blocking

CHATHAM, NJ — The mayor of Chatham Township, Curt Ritter, was criticized by the ACLU this week for setting his personal Facebook page to private, even though he frequently uses it to comment on municipal matters, and for blocking several Chatham residents who disagree with him about the bear hunt.

"While truly personal social media accounts that do not involve official activity would not raise the same speech concerns or requirements, as long as you use your personal social media site at least in part for official mayoral business, you should not block persons from access or commenting," ACLU staff attorney Tess Borden wrote in a letter the ACLU sent this week to Ritter, which was obtained by Patch.

The ACLU says that Ritter has temporarily blocked about a dozen residents from seeing his Facebook posts, and that "most or all" had expressed viewpoints differing from Ritter.

Borden said the issue is similar to one involving President Donald Trump's Twitter feed: An organization called the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of seven people who said they were blocked from Trump's Twitter account, which has 46.4 million followers.

The lawsuit argues that Trump's Twitter account is a public forum, and that elected officials cannot exclude people from it simply because they express different views. Trump often announces policy change through his Twitter handle, and even the White House has said it is the platform to receive "official statements" from the president. Thus, the people Trump blocks are excluded from being informed about presidential policy, and thus prevented from engaging in free speech.

Chatham Township Mayor Curt Ritter is no different, the ACLU says. Ritter blocked people who disagreed with him about allowing the bear hunt in Chatham Township, according to NJ.com.

"As a result of being blocked, these residents were unable to see your posts in community forums on topics of community concern and were unable to engage in public discourse about them," Borden wrote to Ritter.

Ritter is a passionate Trump supporter.

The ACLU sent the letter not only to Ritter, but also to four other members of Chatham Township Committee and Township Attorney Albert Cruz.

Curiously, the ACLU did not get involved when Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, a Democrat, was similarly criticized for blocking people from his personal Facebook page who disagreed with him.

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