Don’t block me, bro: ACLU sues lawmaker over social media Heisman

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida says it’s suing state Rep. Chuck Clemons, a Newberry Republican, “for blocking a constituent from the representative’s official social media accounts.”

Clemons fired back Tuesday that the suit was “frivolous and a waste of taxpayer time and money.”

From the press release:

The constituent, Morgan Attwood of Gainesville, tweeted at Rep. Clemons asking why he voted against a motion to take up debate on a bill to ban assault weapons. In response, Clemons blocked Attwood from Clemons’ official Twitter and Facebook accounts.

“I was just trying to understand why my state representative didn’t support the assault weapon ban,” Attwood said. “I was shocked when he responded by blocking me from his accounts.”

Here’s the tweet:

The suit, Attwood v. Clemons, was filed late Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. It alleges that Clemons engaged in viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment by excluding his constituent from official social media accounts that are otherwise publicly accessible forums.

Eric Lindstrom, Attwood’s attorney, said: “You can’t be kicked out of a public official’s town hall event or press conference for asking a tough question.

“As our democracy increasingly moves online, it is crucial that our First Amendment principles are equally applied to digital forums so that the Internet does not become a haven for public officials to avoid free speech.”

Added co-counsel Nancy Abudu, Legal Director of ACLU Florida: “The ACLU is committed to preserving free speech online and protecting constituents’ rights to freely petition their government for redress without retaliation.

“When an elected official creates a public forum, that forum should be accessible to everyone regardless of their viewpoint.”

In an email, Clemons countered that Twitter and Facebook “are not government entities, nor are pages paid for by government.”

“While the individual who filed suit is offended by my position on the Second Amendment, his lawyer ought to go read the First Amendment,” he said. “Any legislator, or any citizen, has the right to decide who they will or won’t allow to interact with them online.

“I would no more allow someone to be hostile or abusive online than I would if they were standing on my front porch. This is still America and I feel confident that reason, common sense, and freedom will prevail.”