President Trump continues to block critics on socialmedia, despite judicial rulings that doing so violates the First Amendment, a watchdog alleged in a new lawsuit filed Friday.

This case is made necessary because defendants continue tounconstitutionally block ... individuals from the @realDonaldTrump Twitter account, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University alleges on behalf of five individual Twitterusers in a complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan. Trump and social media director Daniel Scavino are named as defendants.

Two users -- including Georgetown professor of public policyDonald Moynihan -- say they were blocked during his presidency, but don't know what specific tweet provoked the block. The other three say they were blocked before Trump was inaugurated.

The Knight Institute has sent multiple letters and emails to defendants explaining that the continued blocking of these individuals from the @realDonaldTrump account violates the FirstAmendment, and asking defendants to unblock these individuals accounts, but defendants have expressly refused, the complaint alleges.

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In 2017, the Knight Institute initially suedthe White House on behalf of seven Twitter users who had been blocked after criticizing Trump. They argued that the White House violated free speech principles by blocking people based on theirpolitical views.

The following year, U.S. District Court Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in New York sided against the White House and issued a declaratory judgment that the blocks wereunconstitutional.

The U.S. Department of Justice appealed to the 2nd Circuit, arguing that Trump acts in a personal capacity, as opposed to an official one, when he blocks peopleon Twitter.

A three-judge panel of that court upheld Buchwald's decision, ruling that evidence of the account's official nature was overwhelming.

The Justice Departmentthen urged the 2nd Circuit to order a new hearing in front of all or most of the circuit's judges. The appellate court rejected that request in March, with two judges dissenting.

The WhiteHouse hasn't yet said whether it will seek review by the Supreme Court.

The Knight Center says that the administration unblocked the original plaintiffs in 2018, as well as others who had beenblocked over critical comments.

But the organization says the administration has refused to unblock people who fall into two categories -- those who can't specify the tweet that led to theblock, and those who were blocked before Trump took office.

The Knight Institute is seeking a declaratory judgment that the continued blocks violate the First Amendment, and an injunctionrequiring the White House to unblock all accounts unless it can justify the blocking on an individualized basis.

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Trump Still Blocking Critics On Twitter, Watchdog Says In New Lawsuit 08/03/2020 - MediaPost Communications