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Kentucky Republican Representative Thomas Massie was informed he can't legally block his critics on Twitter after he angered many when he tweeted a family photo in which he and six family members each brandished a military-style weapon in front of a Christmas tree.
On Tuesday, the Knight First Amendment Institute, an organization that aims to address violations of freedom of speech and the press in the digital age, sent a letter to Massie explaining he can't legally block anyone who finds his tweet objectionable.
The letter read, in part:
“Multiple courts have held that public officials’ social media accounts constitute public forums when they are used in the way that you use the @RepThomasMassie account, and they have made clear that public officials violate the First Amendment when they block users from these fora on the basis of viewpoint."
The organization also called out Massie on Twitter after Mike Masnick, the editor ofTechDirt, noted Massie's decision to block him is a First Amendment violation.
In case it got lost in the mail, below's a link to the letter @knightcolumbia sent yesterday. @mmasnick is correct, blocking people from your official Twitter account, @RepThomasMassie, because you don't like what they have to say violates the 1st Amend. https://t.co/JKK9h4xo3Khttps://t.co/IRmB9cDxHJ
— Knight First Amendment Institute (@knightcolumbia) December 8, 2021
In 2019, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled online pages used by public figures to connect with their constituents are public forums, which means an official cannot block people from them because of the opinions they hold.
Last year, Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn also received a letter from the Knight First Amendment Institute after he blocked Twitter users who criticized his COVID-19 response. New York Represenative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat, also apologized after she blocked a Twitter user who criticized her policies.
Others soon pointed out they've also been blocked by Massie amid the controversy and joined in criticizing him and Twitter for not deleting the image.
Oh no, his @MassieforKY (ya know, the KY is so he can lube the dildos) GOT me too ;) pic.twitter.com/eZEH4ynxKS
— Paul Lee Teeks (@PaulLeeTeeks) December 5, 2021
Hey @BadLegalTakes or @Popehat — is it illegal for a congressmen to block someone on their official government account? pic.twitter.com/xkqDXUeDMT
— Doug Dimmadome 🗯 (@The7Dworfes) December 5, 2021
Thomas Massie gets a boner from the second amendment, albeit a very tiny one, and then takes a shit onto my first amendment. Not nice! pic.twitter.com/OtLxZHJTd4
— Victor Berger IV (@VicBergerIV) December 5, 2021
So, Twitter has locked out @VicBergerIV for trolling Thomas Massie’s objectively weird gun post. He doesn’t want to delete it.
I hope people are waking up to whose interests this website serves: pic.twitter.com/vp0KrvzDJi
— Michael Edison Hayden (@MichaelEHayden) December 5, 2021
Did you know that a public servant such as yourself cannot block people that hurt your feelings?https://t.co/Dc4uprwpXH
— Nasty Liberal (@call_nasty) December 6, 2021
Many courts have now said that public officials’ social media accounts used for official purposes are “public forums” under the First Amendment, but some officials still haven’t got the message. Here’s what we just sent to @RepThomasMassie for @mmasnick. 🧵https://t.co/OaO8ORZasX
— Jameel Jaffer (@JameelJaffer) December 7, 2021
@RepThomasMassie you can’t block people, you are violating the first amendment. https://t.co/UIUqzczbIh
— Jeff Blaker (@jeff_blaker) December 9, 2021
Dear @RepThomasMassie,
How many Americans have you unconstitutionally blocked from following your official Congressional account? How many of them are your constituents? https://t.co/Ju1IF9odYF
— Alex Howard (@digiphile) December 8, 2021
Ok @Twitter and Twitter users, can a public official block private citizens on Twitter? I thought that was against the law. @repthomasmassie just blocked me for exercising my first amendment rights. #RepThomasMassie#Block#blockedpic.twitter.com/kY6zs6vIYZ
— aricocaruso (@aricocaruso) December 5, 2021
Massie's tweet came just days after a mass shooting occurred at Oxford High School in Oxford Township, Michigan.
Last week, James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of school shooter Ethan Crumbley, were arrested following an intense manhunt and charged with four counts each of involuntary manslaughter.
The Crumbleys had purchased the handgun used in the shooting as a Christmas gift for their son on Black Friday and stored it improperly.
The Crumbleys were called to the school shortly before the shooting occurred to discuss a violent drawing made by their son and did not inform the school they had recently purchased him a gun.
The shooting has once again sparked a national debate on gun control and the merits of the Second Amendment. The school district, Oxford Community Schools, has confirmed it will conduct an investigation of the incident.
However, the controversy surrounding Massie's tweet did not stop Republican Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado from responding to Massie's photo with a picture of her four equally armed children.
"The Boeberts have your six," Boebert tweeted to Massie, using a military saying that means, "I've got your back" even though neither politician has military experience.