NEW YORK (AP) – President Donald Trump may be the nation’s tweeter-in-chief, but some Twitter users say he’s violating the First Amendment by blocking people from his feed after they posted scornful comments.
Lawyers for two Twitter users sent the White House a letter Tuesday demanding they be un-blocked from the Republican president’s @realDonaldTrump account.
The White House hasn’t responded.
The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University in New York wrote the letter on behalf of the blocked tweeters.
Although Trump started @realDonaldTrump as a private citizen, the institute’s lawyers argue he’s made it a government-designated public forum by using it to discuss polices and engage with citizens. They say it’s unconstitutional to exclude people from such a forum based on their views.
Blocking people on Twitter means they can’t easily see and comment on your tweets.