Joe.My.God. LGBT News
The Texas Tribune reports:
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will no longer block users from his personal account for expressing “First Amendment-protected viewpoints” as part of an agreement to end a lawsuit where plaintiffs say they were unconstitutionally blocked for criticizing him or his policies on the platform, according to a filing late Friday in a federal court in Austin.
Paxton had already unblocked the named plaintiffs of the lawsuit in May, a month after the lawsuit was filed, but the latest filing confirmed he has now unblocked any other accounts.
Though Paxton blocked the plaintiffs on his personal account — not the official attorney general account — attorneys for the plaintiffs said he used the account to make official announcements, comment on local issues and defend his policies.
Read the full article. I just checked and indeed, I have now been unblocked by Paxton.
VICTORY! Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton unconstitutionally blocked Texans on Twitter for criticizing his policies and qualifications.
The ACLU of Texas and the Knight Institute sued — and now Paxton will unblock not just our plaintiffs but EVERYONE. https://t.co/ZwG08PXOMl
— ACLU of Texas (@ACLUTx) July 12, 2021
Paxton blocked our plaintiff Omar Gallaga for tweeting about Paxton’s unsuccessful effort to overturn the 2020 election: “I have lived in Texas for so long that I remember when people took @KenPaxtonTX seriously.”
— ACLU of Texas (@ACLUTx) July 12, 2021
Paxton blocked our plaintiff Mario Carrillo for commenting on Paxton’s guidance that poll watchers did not need to socially distance during the COVID-19 pandemic: “In case y’all didn’t know, @KenPaxtonTX is a ghoul.”
— ACLU of Texas (@ACLUTx) July 12, 2021
After Paxton agreed to unblock all blocked accounts and refrain from blocking accounts going forward, our plaintiffs agreed to dismiss the case.
If he tries to suppress Texans’ free speech again, we will see him in court.
— ACLU of Texas (@ACLUTx) July 12, 2021