A Louisiana woman filed a lawsuit on Thursday, claiming that a state senator shouldn’t be allowed to remove tweets that were critical of her anti-abortion campaign since the senator’s Twitter account is a public forum.
According to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Monroe, pro-choice activist Maya Detiege was blocked from posting on the twitter account of Monroe Democrat, Sen. Katrina Jackson.
The lawsuit filed by Maya Detiege coincides with ongoing political conflicts and increased international scrutiny of Twitter and other social media platforms’ efforts to prevent the spread of false information.
The Louisiana lawsuit seeks a declaration that Jackson violated Maya Detiege’s First Amendment right to free speech, and a court order that her access to post comments on Jackson’s account be restored.
“Because as a public official she opened up a public forum, she cannot silence views she does not like from that public forum,” attorney Katie Schwartzmann, who filed the suit as head of the New Orleans-based Tulane First Amendment Law Clinic, said in an email.
In an email responding to a request for comment, Jackson’s legislative assistant said the lawmaker had not yet seen the lawsuit.
Federal courts in at least two other regions have agreed, with perhaps the most prominent case resulting in a 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling against former President Donald Trump. After Trump left office hat case was ordered dismissed as moot by the Supreme Court, which hasn’t made a definitive ruling on the issue.
Jackson, like Gov. John Bel Edwards, is a rare prominent Democrat who opposed abortion rights. She was a main sponsor of legislation to make abortion in Louisiana illegal following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning abortion rights.
Detiege’s lawsuit notes her angry responses to Jackson’s support of anti-abortion legislation and also notes other people who were blocked by Jackson after posting opinions opposed to hers.
“Senator Jackson has no compelling or important interest in blocking users engaged in lawful speech, including Ms. Detiege,” the lawsuit states.
For additional context, AP reports that Jackson was a “main sponsor of legislation” to make abortions illegal in the southern state after the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
