Biden v. Knight First Amendment Institute
United States Supreme Court
141 S. Ct. 1220 (2021)
- Written by Jamie Milne, JD
Facts
United States President Donald Trump (defendant) used a Twitter account to communicate and interact with the public as president. Trump blocked some Twitter users from accessing the comment threads on his posts, preventing the users from posting responses. The Knight First Amendment Institute and some of the blocked Twitter users (plaintiffs) sued Trump, arguing that by blocking users whose political views he did not agree with, Trump engaged in viewpoint discrimination that violated the First Amendment. The district court agreed and declared Trump’s conduct unconstitutional. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed, holding that the comment threads on Trump’s posts constituted a public forum and that Trump violated the First Amendment by blocking some users from accessing that forum. Twitter subsequently permanently removed Trump’s account from the Twitter platform. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning ()
Concurrence (Thomas, J.)
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