On Friday socialist congressman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reportedly Twitter-blocked Ryan Saavedra, a conservative reporter from The Daily Wire who’d been critical of the race-baiting stunt she’d pulled earlier that day at the Al Sharpton’s National Action Network’s annual convention.
HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA
She finally blocked me and it was after I called out her latest set of lies pic.twitter.com/9mjrBBjDVv
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) April 5, 2019
But while Saavedra found it to be a laughing matter — and not unjustifiably so — some believe that AOC may have inadvertently just broken the law by violating a judicial precedent.
Which judicial precedent? The one that was set last year when New York-based U.S. District Court Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald ruled that President Donald Trump cannot lawfully block his critics from his personal @realDonaldTrump Twitter account.
“We hold that portions of the @realDonaldTrump account — the ‘interactive space’ where Twitter users may directly engage with the content of the President’s tweets — are properly analyzed under the ‘public forum‘ doctrines set forth by the Supreme Court, that such space is a designated public forum, and that the blocking of the plaintiffs based on their political speech constitutes viewpoint discrimination that violates the First Amendment,” her ruling read.
The precedent basically established “that social media accounts operated by a government official — even the president of the United States — constitutes a public forum,” according to Clay Calvert, a 1st Amendment expert who teaches at University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications.
But wait, isn’t young 29-year-old Ocasio-Cortez a government official, hmm? Why, yes she is!
Uh oh …
Buchwald’s decision explains whether a public official can block Ppl on Twitter in response to their political views without violating their 1st Amd. rights,
“The answer is NO”
“No government official, including the President is above the law”So @AOC Unblock Ryan & apologize pic.twitter.com/ZU1KsAeqJo
— ?Sophia? (@Surfermom77) April 6, 2019
@AOC you can’t legally block anyone! You’re a public servant! pic.twitter.com/4G9MzOsuHf
— Toby H. (@tobyFX74) April 6, 2019
I thought it was illegal for public service personnel to block American citizen, for any reason….
— Jim for real ??? Trump 2020 (@jum_bygod) April 6, 2019
By law she can not block you….. Courts already ruled on that. Elected officials CAN NOT block people on social media….
— MARK ANTHONY (@TrueBlueLE) April 7, 2019
@AOC It is illegal for you to block ANYONE. You have to live with the effect of your slanderous lies or be sued and arrested.
— Donna H (@Crittermom910) April 6, 2019
That’s illegal for a elected official to block public opinion turn her butt in @AOC is nothing more then a spoiled child not getting her way
— Iam Your Huckleberry (@huckleberry_iam) April 6, 2019
Also, I am sure you are aware, but it is illegal to block your constituents on Twitter. You are a public servant, you don’t get to hide from the public, it’s part of the job. Time to put on your big girl pants and grow up a little.
— SeaBass (@OffensiveJESTR) April 6, 2019
According to Saavedra, this is the Twitter thread he posted that “triggered” her:
Folks talking about my voice can step right off. Women’s March & Kavanaugh speech, same.
Any kid who grew up in a distinct linguistic culture & had to learn to navigate class enviros at school/work knows what’s up.
My Spanish is the same way.
These conspiracy mills are ?. https://t.co/8li33Jd6DL
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 5, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez claims that she used the same accent during her “Women’s March & Kavanaugh speech”
This is a lie.
Accurately reporting on what she said and how she said it is not a “conspiracy mill”
Links to those 2 speeches are in subsequent tweets on this thread https://t.co/ruVFAJnMAo
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) April 5, 2019
Here’s her Women’s March speechhttps://t.co/tlPvYBwuHT
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) April 5, 2019
Here’s her speech on Kavanaugh https://t.co/4odidt2LAy
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) April 5, 2019
And here she is today using the accentpic.twitter.com/FIbIAPokt0
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) April 5, 2019
In an attempt to excuse her widely condemned decision to don a southern drawl to pander to the predominantly black audience at NAN’s annual convention, she falsely claimed she’d used the same accent during two previous speaking events. But that’d been a lie.
And when Saavedra called her out for her lie, she got “triggered” and blocked him. Triggered or not, she technically doesn’t have the right to block Saavedra or any other critic. And this isn’t just some “right-wing” talking point. It’s a judicial precedent set because of left-wing activism, ironically enough.
It was left-wing activists — one of whom is an avid fan of AOC — who sued the president in 2017 via the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and wound up winning a year later.
Tweets from the aforementioned AOC-supporting activist may be seen below:
I sued the President, and I won. https://t.co/hE3rWcxIAY
— RPBP (@rpbp) May 23, 2018
In which @cmclymer and @AOC are in conversation for the greater good. https://t.co/868YEcPv53
— RPBP (@rpbp) January 21, 2019
It’s unclear how Rebecca Buckwalter, a writer and political consultant who was reportedly blocked by the president after she tweeted to him that he didn’t win the 2016 presidential election — “Russia won it for you” — feels about the fact that her beloved AOC may be held to the same standard that she and her cohorts introduced, and that’s since been reaffirmed by the 4th Circuit.
“A federal appeals court said on Monday a Virginia politician violated the Constitution by temporarily blocking a critic from her Facebook page, a decision that could affect President Donald Trump’s appeal from a similar ruling in New York,” Reuters reported in January.
“In a 3-0 decision, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Phyllis Randall, chair of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, violated the First Amendment free speech rights of Brian Davison by banning him for 12 hours from her ‘Chair Phyllis J. Randall’ page.”
Looks like @AOC broke the law here.
Davison v. Randall was upheld by the 4th Circuit earlier this year. They maintained that a public official/lawmaker cannot block social media users who criticize them.
The Congresswoman might want to consult a lawyer. https://t.co/UeTEhiT1eQ
— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) April 5, 2019
Sorry, AOC, but the law is the law, and it looks like you just broke it. Whoops!
PS: LOCK HER UP!
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
Vivek@bizpacreview.com
V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.
- Biden snubs Netanyahu thus far after big election win, but call expected ‘soon’ - November 6, 2022
- RNC chair flips CNN ‘election denier’ narrative: Dems are ‘inflation deniers… crime deniers’ - November 6, 2022
- Tudor Dixon goes scorched earth on Stephen Colbert after ‘apology’ for doubting Muslim parent is real - November 6, 2022
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
