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According to Newsweek, a former state lawmaker has filed a lawsuit against Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican Congresswoman who blocked constituents on the social media platform Twitter.
The lawsuit accuses Boebert of Colorado of violating the First Amendment when she blocked at least 12 people on Twitter. Most of those she blocked were accounts of constituents who reside in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District.
Former Democratic State Rep. Bri Buentello is one of the people blocked. Buentello sued Boebert in a federal court on Sunday for infringing on her freedom of speech. Buentello says she was blocked after calling Boebert out for her seditious actions.
Buentello’s suit alleges that she was blocked from “viewing” Boebert’s Twitter account, replying to her tweets, or otherwise engage with others who interacted with Boebert’s tweets.
Buentello requests that the U.S. District Court in Denver grant her motion for a preliminary injunction, which will order the Congresswoman to stop violating the constitution.
Jeff Small, the chief of staff for Boebert, told the news outlet that Boebert would not be “commenting on any pending legislation.”
During a Sunday interview with Colorado Politics, Buentello said Boebert is “not above criticism.”
“I know that better than most as a former representative myself. My hope is that she wakes up one day and stops trampling on the First Amendment and stops blocking people,” she added.
Attorney David Lane represents Buentello and released a statement on the matter.
“Our client, Brianna Buentello, is a former elected state legislator who lives in Boebert’s district and is very concerned that Boebert has no knowledge of, nor concern with, the United States Constitution beyond the notion that somehow everyone can carry guns anywhere they so desire. Boebert has blocked Buentello, along with many other people, who are critical of her authoritarian politics.”
Lane also cited the lawsuit filed against Donald Trump in a New York federal court in 2018, when Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald ruled that it was unconstitutional for Trump to block Twitter users over their dissenting political opinions.
The judge said that the president’s personal social media accounts and those of other government officials are considered public forums, and blocking users for opposing views is a violation of the First Amendment
