April 28, 2021, Press Release
PRESS RELEASE: New federal lawsuit claims California Congressperson Ken Calvert has been constitutionally blocking constituents on Twitter, in violation of the First Amendment
CORONA, CA and WASHINGTON, DC—Today, Gerstein Harrow LLP filed a complaint in federal court against Congressperson Ken Calvert, who represents California’s 42nd District, for unconstitutionally blocking his constituents on Twitter and violating their First Amendment rights. Plaintiff Trevor Farragut has requested an injunction prohibiting Calvert from blocking him or anyone else and a declaration that Calvert violated the Constitution. The complaint can be found here.
“Free speech means we all get to have a robust debate, free from government censorship, online and off,” said counsel Jason Harrow of Gerstein Harrow. “Members of Congress don’t get to pick and choose which comments they listen to and their followers see. That’s exactly what the First Amendment prohibits, and it’s astonishing how many politicians think the First Amendment doesn’t apply to them. Calvert’s time is up.”
In a clear violation of bedrock free speech principles, Plaintiff Trevor Farragut, a military veteran who tweets with the handle @tfarragut8435, was blocked last week merely for disagreeing with Representative Calvert. On Thursday, April 22, Calvert tweeted about a new op-ed he wrote in the Washington Times, in which he supposedly explained: “how we can build infrastructure quicker and at a lower cost while maintaining environmental protections.” Farragut engaged in protected speech when he responded “Oh. Word? So why haven’t you tried to do anything about it since you were elected in ‘94? We all know the reason you’re against it. Because it’s going to be funded by increasing taxes on the rich.” Farragut ended his tweet with the impolite but legally-protected phrase “Now sit your ass down and shut up.”
Calvert took exception and immediately blocked Farragut, which removes Farragut’s comment from the thread for Calvert’s followers. Farragut then posted a screenshot of the notice that he had been blocked by Calvert along with the note “Buwuahaha. Kenny boy [Calvert] blocked me. Didn’t the courts rule that illegal?” Even though Farragut contacted Calvert’s congressional office directly, he remains blocked.
This is part of a pattern for Calvert, who he has blocked dozens of people merely because they expressed viewpoints with which he disagreed. This lawsuit seeks to put a permanent end to Calvert’s illegal censorship.
Calvert is the third Congressperson sued recently for similar behaviour. Earlier this year, Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene agreed to stop Twitter blocking and pay attorney’s fees of $10,000 when she was sued by MeidasTouch, a political action committee. Gerstein Harrow coordinated with MeidasTouch founder and prominent Los Angeles attorney Ben Meiselas on this new case as well. Earlier, Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez settled a lawsuit on this issue, apologized for blocking, and agreed not to do it.
The case is part of Gerstein Harrow’s ongoing project to vindicate the First Amendment in social media. Just this week, they reached a public settlement with a local official in DC that prohibits her from blocking anyone online.
For more info, contact Jason Harrow at jason@gerstein-harrow.com.
