Maine Governor Sued Over Facebook Bans

The ACLU has sued Maine Governor Paul LePage for allegedly violating critics' free speech rights by blocking them on Facebook.

"Social media has recently become a crucial venue for public officials to disseminate news and information, and an equally crucial opportunity for the public to express their thoughts and opinions in response to such news," the ACLU alleges in a complaint filed in federal court Tuesday on behalf of Karin Leuthy and Kelli Whitlock Burton.

"Governor LePage’s official Facebook page is a significant source of information and news for the people of Maine, as well as a popular forum for speech by, to, and about the Governor," the complaint alleges. "By blocking access to this forum and deleting comments based on the viewpoint of the speaker, Governor LePage has violated plaintiffs’ right to free expression and to petition the government for a redress of wrongs and grievances."

The newest suit comes around one week after the ACLU filed similar actions against Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. Last month, the Knight Institute sued President Donald Trump and other administration officials for blocking Twitter followers.

Maine's Leuthy and Burton co-founded the progressive group Suit Up Maine. Both allege that they were banned from LePage's Facebook page in July, after posting comments critical of him or his administration.

Leuthy she was blocked after posting two comments regarding his dealings with the press. One comment, which included a link to a Bangor Daily News piece, questioned why LePage didn't respond to reporters, according to the complaint.

Two weeks ago, a federal judge ruled that a local official in Virginia violated a resident's First Amendment rights by briefly blocking him on Facebook.

The complaint in Maryland was brought on behalf of four Maryland citizens who allegedly were blocked from Hogan's Facebook page, or had their comments deleted from the page. They allege that Hogan and other state officials "regularly delete comments and block users because of political disagreement with the messages posted."

That lawsuit draws on a February Washington Post report that officials blocked 450 people from Facebook since Hogan took office in January 2015. Many of the bans came soon after the 2015 Baltimore protests over the killing of Freddie Gray, and in January, after Donald Trump issued a ban on immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

The Kentucky lawsuit was brought on behalf of two people who say they were blocked on Twitter or Facebook by Bevin.

The ACLU is seeking an injunction requiring the state officials to stop blocking people based on their opinions, and declarations that it's unconstitutional to ban people on social media based on their points of view.

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