Judge says Rep. Boebert can block people on personal Twitter

A federal judge has ruled that Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert does not have to unblock a former Democratic Colorado state lawmaker from Twitter.

"Blocking a Twitter user on an account created before she was elected to office is something Ms. Boebert could do before she was in office and could do after she leaves office," U.S. District Court Judge Daniel D. Domenico said in his decision Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

The case was brought to the judge, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, by former Democratic state Rep. Bri Buentello. Buentello asserted that Boebert blocking her on Twitter was a violation of freedom of speech. Boebert blocked only her on her personal Twitter account, not her congressional one.

Buentello filed her lawsuit in January after she was blocked by the congressman for calling for her recall after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Buentello also lives in Boebert's 3rd congressional district. She also served a single term in Colorado's state legislature before losing her reelection.

"It is a blow to our freedom of speech when a politician using a platform such as Twitter can block voices of dissent which she disagrees with, and the courts won’t intervene to stop this First Amendment violation," David Lane, an attorney representing Buentello said of the decision last week.