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AOC sued after Trump court ruling for blocking Twitter users

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is facing 2 lawsuits for blocking Twitter users based on their personal viewpoints.

Details: Former Democratic New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind filed a suit against Ocasio-Cortez after a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that President Trump violated the Constitution in blocking critics on Twitter. YouTuber and NY-11 Republican Congressional candidate Joey Saladino tweeted he'd also filed a suit against the freshman lawmaker after she blocked him.

What they're saying: Hivkind told Fox News the claim, which targets Ocasio-Cortez's personal account, is the same as the one against Trump. "She uses that account for political/policy commentary, so to shut a citizen off from her statements is a problem — as well as blocking me from petitioning her or seeking redress," he told the news outlet.

  • A spokesperson for Saladino — who's been called racist for his YouTube stunts targeting African-American people — said in a statement to Fox News that Ocasio-Cortez's decision to block him was "unprovoked."
  • The spokesperson critcized what they referred to as "digital feudalism, which those on the left seem enthusiastic about — completely antithetical to the American Nation."

Why it matters: The ruling in Trump's case set a precedent that any elected official — from a local mayor to the president — who blocks a constituent on Twitter could be found guilty of violating that constituent's First Amendment rights, Axios' Sara Fischer notes.

Go deeper: Trump's unexpected 1st Amendment legacy

Go deeper

Axios
Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

  1. Health: Communities of color are falling behind in America's vaccine effort.
  2. Politics: Hundreds of Biden staffers receive COVID vaccine — Axios-Ipsos poll: Trust in federal COVID-19 response surges.
  3. Business: Bankruptcy filings hit decade-high last year.
  4. World: U.K. surpasses 100,000 COVID-19 deaths — 44% of Israelis have already received at least one vaccine dose.
  5. Sports: Pandemic has cost the NCAA $600 million — CDC looks at lessons learned from NFL's testing and contact tracing.
Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Dave Lawler, author of World
1 hour ago - World

Biden holds first phone call with Putin, raises Navalny arrest

Putin takes a call in 2017. Photo: Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty

President Biden on Tuesday held his first call since taking office with Vladimir Putin, pressing the Russian president on the arrest of opposition leader Alexey Navalny and the Russia-linked hack on U.S. government agencies.

The state of play: Biden also raised arms control, bounties allegedly placed on U.S. troops in Afghanistan and the war in Ukraine, according to a White House readout. The statement said Biden and Putin agreed maintain "consistent communication," and that Biden stressed the U.S. would "act firmly in defense of its national interests in response to actions by Russia that harm us or our allies."

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Russell Contreras
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Biden signs racial equity executive orders

Joe Biden prays at Grace Lutheran Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on September 3, 2020, in the aftermath of the police shooting of Jacob Blake. PHOTO: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed executive orders on housing and ending the Justice Department's use of private prisons as part of what the White House is calling his “racial equity agenda.”

The big picture: Biden needs the support of Congress to push through police reform or new voting rights legislation. The executive orders serve as his down payment to immediately address systemic racism while he focuses on the pandemic.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow

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