Published
5 years agoon
SACRAMENTO — Two California residents are suing a state senator for blocking them from a social media account in a case similar to a successful lawsuit that barred President Trump from blocking critics on his Twitter account.
Suzanne Rummel and Marlene Burkitt sued Democratic Sen. Richard Pan of Sacramento alleging that barring them from his Twitter account violates their First Amendment free speech rights.
Pan is a physician and both women’s accounts show they oppose his efforts to promote universal vaccinations of children.
Burkitt says in the lawsuit filed last week in federal court in Sacramento that she was blocked after using Pan’s Twitter site to discuss his efforts “to reduce medical freedom, parental decision-making rights, and other issues.”
Pan’s spokeswoman, Shannan Velayas, said she couldn’t comment.
“This is the first we’re hearing about it,” she said. “We haven’t been served.”
Pan personally uses his Twitter account several times a day, according to the lawsuit, which calls it “his most active, consistent, and interactive form of communication.”
It is unconstitutional for Pan to block dissenting viewpoints, says the lawsuit, which asks for the women to be restored and for unspecified damages, fees and costs.
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