(RightWing.org) – To say Democrats are hypocritical is something of a redundancy, including their application of First Amendment rights and their astounding ability to ignore court precedent. A perfect example can be found in the reason for a lawsuit filed against Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a.k.a. AOC (D-NY) and her actions on social media.
Silenced
Alex Stein is a comedian/satirist/Conservative commentator who hosts his own show on the Blaze Media network. He is not well-loved by the Left, probably because he is not known to hold back when expressing his opinions. After an interaction with AOC on July 13, 2022, while she was walking up the steps of the United States Capitol building, she blocked him from her Twitter page.
This was not long after the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 abortion case Roe v. Wade, and AOC made sure she got plenty of photo ops protesting the decision. Stein, who was already standing on the steps, decided to exercise his right to free speech when he “in the context of political commentary and satire, complemented [AOC],” according to court documents.
Media reports from the time indicate Stein said of AOC, “she wants to kill babies, but she’s still beautiful,” and continued a running commentary that eventually got to the point that even the conservative New York Post labeled it sexual harassment. At one point in the video, an enraged AOC can be seen taking a few steps toward him when an aide held up an arm to hold her back, causing the Congresswoman to refrain from throwing the punch she later said she wanted to deliver.
The lawsuit notes the New York lawmaker uses two different Twitter handles with @AOC being “her de facto ‘official’ account,” which has more than 13.4 million followers from which she had sent nearly 10 times the number of tweets than the @RepAOC she created after being elected. The pundit’s lawyers contend their client has a constitutional right to read and respond to what is essentially an electronic version of the soapbox people used to stand upon in days gone by.
Legal Precedent
The lawsuit also references a case decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on July 9, 2019, that had been filed against then-President Donald Trump. The Knight First Amendment Institute sued on behalf of several people who had been blocked from the @realDonaldTrump Twitter account for criticizing the former POTUS and his policies.
The court’s decision notes there is no dispute over the fact that since Trump’s account was established in 2009, it had been a purely private matter until he took office, but their concern was at that point in time when he was an active public servant. The ruling said since he had “chosen a platform and opened up its interactive space to millions of users and participants, he may not selectively exclude those whose views he disagrees with.” The question now, that only time can answer, is whether or not AOC will be held to the same standard.
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