Name: Lauren Boebert sued for blocking former Colorado state legislator on Twitter
Brand: denverpost.com
SKU: denverpost-com-220
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Lauren Boebert sued for blocking former Colorado state legislator on Twitter

preview

By | | The Denver PostFormer state Rep. Brianna Buentello sued U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert in federal court Sunday, alleging Colorado’s violated Buentello’s free speech rights by blocking her on Twitter following the storming of the U.S. Capitol.The lawsuit, which attorney David Lane said he filed in U.S. District Court in Denver, alleges Boebert, R-Rifle, blocked Buentello, a constituent of Boebert’s who served in the state legislature as a Democrat from Pueblo, after Buentello criticized the congresswoman’s actions as seditious.This prevented Buentello, who was defeated by Republican challenger Stephanie Luck in November, “from viewing her Twitter account, replying to her Tweets or otherwise engaging with those who interact within the replies to her tweets,” according to the lawsuit.People who are blocked by users on Twitter still can view that person’s tweets — if the account is not made private — by logging out of the social media service. Neither Boebert’s personal Twitter account, , nor her official one, , are private.“We are seeking a preliminary injunction mandating that Boebert stop violating the Constitution she swore an oath to ‘preserve, protect and defend’ little more than two weeks ago,” Lane wrote in a news release. “Recently Donald Trump lost an almost identical case filed in New York when he was doing the same thing. Boebert has not learned that lesson.”The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled in 2019 that Trump violated the First Amendment whenever he blocked a critic to silence a viewpoint. The three-judge panel had concluded that the president’s daily pronouncements and observations were overwhelmingly official in nature.In the lawsuit, Lane argues that Boebert’s personal Twitter account @laurenboebert “has become an important channel for news about her office and the United States government. Those who are blocked from the account are impeded in their ability to learn information that is shared only through that account.”I feel so honored! It’s funny how free speech is allegedly sacred to these “constitutionalists” until they’re criticized. Also, any friends out there familiar with laws? She is my Congresswoman, after all. CC: ,— Representative Bri Buentello (@Bri4CO)Boebert blocked Buentello, according to the lawsuit, after the former lawmaker used Twitter to label the congresswoman’s actions on the day of the Capitol riot as seditious, and demand she be recalled. (Members of Congress can’t be recalled.)As the lawsuit notes, Boebert’s use of Twitter on Jan. 6 — including tweeting “Today is 1776” and later telling her followers when Speaker Nancy Pelosi had been removed from the House chambers — has drawn intense criticism, calls for investigation and demands she resign.Jeff Small, Boebert’s chief of staff, said in a statement Sunday that the office will not comment on pending litigation.The congresswoman’s spokesman, Ben Goldey, that he has resigned less than two weeks after she was sworn in, citing the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol.Twitter last week after she spread false information about the presidential election. But the social media company reviewed its actions, and later determined it had ruled in error, and instead flagged as disputed the Jan. 9 tweet that falsely accused Democrats of rigging the election.In a sworn declaration included with the lawsuit, Buentello said she is being prevented from directly responding to Boebert’s tweets because of the congresswoman’s decision to block her.“I wish to respond to Representative Boebert’s authoritarian policies as enunciated on her Twitter account,” Buentello&nbsp; said. “I believe she is a danger to our country and it is my right to alert the citizenry to that fact. In criticizing Representative Boebert online, I am engaged in petitioning my government for redress of my grievances. When blocked, this option of petitioning is foreclosed to me and I wish to continue to petition in this manner.”The Associated Press contributed to this report.We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions. As of June 15, 2022, comments on are powered by Viafoura, and you may need to log in again to begin commenting. Read more about our new commenting system . If you need help or are having issues with your commenting account, please email us atSign up for Newsletters and AlertsFollow UsMost PopularClose

By | | The Denver PostFormer state Rep. Brianna Buentello sued U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert in federal court Sunday, alleging Colorado’s violated Buentello’s free speech rights by blocking her on Twitter following the storming of the U.S. Capitol.The lawsuit, which attorney David Lane said he filed in U.S. District Court in Denver, alleges Boebert, R-Rifle, blocked Buentello, a constituent of Boebert’s who served in the state legislature as a Democrat from Pueblo, after Buentello criticized the congresswoman’s actions as seditious.This prevented Buentello, who was defeated by Republican...

Lauren Boebert sued for blocking former Colorado state legislator on Twitter

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS