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Donald Trump Banned From Blocking Twitter Users

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25 May 2018

By Bronwen

Us President Donald Trump loves waving the Second Amendment around in everyone’s faces whenever school shooting survivors protest for gun regulation. Well now, Trump has been forcefully reminded of the First Amendment after a judge ruled that he and other government officials cannot block people on Twitter. This decision was a result of a lawsuit by seven people who have been blocked by @realdonaldtrump.

US District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald ruled that a President cannot block people from voicing their opinions towards them as it violates an individual’s right to free speech. All US citizens should be able to direct messages (letters, phone calls, or tweets) towards government officials including the President in order for their First Amendment right to be fulfilled.

President Trump has blocked Chrissy Teigen, Stephen King and Eugene Gu, as well as numerous others.

The Department of Justice argued that Trump has the right to choose who can and can’t interact with him on his personal Twitter page, but the ruling dictated that his Twitter profile is a public forum.

“While we must recognise, and are sensitive to, the presidents personal First Amendment rights, he cannot exercise those rights in a way that infringes the corresponding First Amendment rights of those who have criticised him,” said Judge Buchwald on Wednesday.

Trump is still allowed to mute other Twitter users but he cannot prevent them from directing tweets towards him.

Whether we’ll see Trump’s tweets becoming less frequent and tamer is yet to be seen. What’s for sure though is that Twitter is going to become a much more insulting place for the President.

 

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