Trump Can't Block Pittsburgh Man, Others On Twitter, Judge Rules

PITTSBURGH, PA - Joseph Papp tweeted a jab to Donald Trump last year that got him blocked by the president. Now Papp has defeated Trump in court.

A federal district court judge in New York ruled Wednesday that Trump is not allowed to block people on Twitter over opposing political views because it violates the First Amendment.

Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, determined that Trump's Twitter account is a public forum and blocking people because they offer opposing viewpoints is discriminatory and unconstitutional.

The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University had sued on behalf of seven people who were blocked by the @realDonaldTrump Twitter account over their reply tweets to Trump. Papp, an author and former professional road racing cyclist from the Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park, was one of them.

The others were a university professor in Silver Spring, Maryland, a surgery resident in Nashville, Tennessee, a songwriter and organizer in Seattle, Washington, a comedy writer in New York City, a legal analyst in Washington, D.C. and a police officer in Houston, Texas.

Here are the tweets that got Papp, who could not immediately be reached by Patch Thursday, into trouble with Trump:

Trump had argued that the First Amendment isn't applicable in the case and that his own First Amendment interests superseded the plaintiffs,' The Hill reported. Not only that, blocked individuals could still see the president's tweets, the government alleged.

But the judge found that blocking users from interacting directly with Trump on the social media platform was a violation of a "real, albeit narrow, slice of speech," NBC News reported. The judge said Trump can simply ignore opposing viewpoints on Twitter.

"No First Amendment harm arises when a government's 'challenged conduct' is simply to ignore the [speaker]," as the Supreme Court has affirmed 'that it is free to do,' " she wrote.

"Stated otherwise, 'a person's right to speak is not infringed when government simply ignores that person while listening to others,' or when the government 'amplifies' the voice of one speaker over those of others."
Jameel Jaffer, the Knight Institute's executive director, told media outlets they are happy with the ruling.

"The president's practice of blocking critics on Twitter is pernicious and unconstitutional, and we hope this ruling will bring it to an end," he said.

The White House didn't immediately issue a response.

Patch national writer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Photo: Getty Images.

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