ACLU sues Sacramento County Sheriff for blocking activists from official Facebook page News
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ACLU sues Sacramento County Sheriff for blocking activists from official Facebook page

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California on Wednesday filed a complaint against the Sacramento County Sheriff for blocking Black Lives Matter (BLM) leaders from his Facebook page.

Tanya Faison and Sonia Lewis brought this complaint against Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, alleging violations of their freedom of speech rights under the First Amendment and the California Constitution.

Jones posted to his public page looking for support after locking the Inspector General out of the police department’s facilities. Faison and Lewis were targeted in the discussion following it. The activists both had their comments deleted before being banned from the page.

The ACLU argues that the Facebook page is analogous to a public forum. The publicly accessible page hosts direct communications between constituents and public officials. All are able to read the posts and consider the viewpoints presented, but only those with unblocked accounts are able to comment.

According to the complaint, Faison and Lewis experienced discrimination due to their viewpoint and identity. This page is distinct from Jones’ personal page—the official page contains a public figure designation and is frequently used to discuss the activities of the department.

Earlier this month the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that blocking a critic on a politician’s public Facebook page is a violation of the First Amendment.

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