The ACLU of California is suing Scott R. Jones, the sheriff of Sacramento County, for blocking two Black Lives Matter Activists on Facebook.
According to the lawsuit, Black Lives Matter leaders Tanya Faison and Sonia Lewis were censored after posting critical comments on Jones’ official Facebook page. The two are founders of the Sacramento chapter of BLM.
Faison and Lewis’ posts were in response to Jones asking for more insight on how to handle the future relationship of Sacramento Sheriff’s department and Black Lives Matter. Both of their posts about Jones and the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department were removed and their pages were banned.
The ACLU’s complaint alleges that Jones’ actions against the two were “based on the content of their speech, their viewpoint, and their identity,” and violated their First Amendment rights to free speech.
This isn’t the first lawsuit of its kind. Politicians in Arizona, Georgia, and Virginia were also sued for banning people from their official Facebook pages. In May, a federal judge ruled that President Donald Trump violated the First Amendment when he blocked accounts that were critical of him on Twitter.
The lawsuit requests damages, attorney fees, and costs. It also requests the county to prohibit Jones and other public officials from blocking or deleting posts from other users.
