President Donald Trump wants to fight for his right to block critics on Twitter.
Lawyers for the president sent a notice of appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday after a Manhattan federal judge ruled that Trump cannot block people from his @realDonaldTrump account just because he doesn’t like their political views.
The president’s lawyers have yet to file paperwork explaining their grounds for an appeal, but they have previously argued that Trump was merely exercising his First Amendment rights when he blocked people who criticized him.
Before filing for the appeal, the seven people who sued Trump — including a Texas cop and an NYC comic — were unblocked, according to the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which brought the lawsuit.
Philip Cohen, a sociology professor at the University of Maryland, cheered his return to @realDonaldTrump in a tweet late Monday.
“We whined. We complained. We sued. We won our First Amendment lawsuit in federal court. And now @realDonaldTrump has unblocked me. Wow!”
Cohen and the others were unblocked just in time to witness Trump use his Twitter account to attack Democrats, Attorney General Jeff Sessions — and the Philadelphia Eagles, whom he disinvited to the White House after only a handful agreed to show up.
“The Philadelphia Eagles Football Team was invited to the White House. Unfortunately, only a small number of players decided to come, and we canceled the event. Staying in the Locker Room for the playing of our National Anthem is as disrespectful to our country as kneeling. Sorry!” he tweeted on Monday.
Last month, Manhattan federal Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald ruled that Trump was violating his critics’ First Amendment right to free speech when he blocked them because Twitter is a “public forum” — and is used by Trump to discuss official government business.
The judge stopped short of ordering the president to unblock people, but said she expects him to follow her ruling nonetheless.
“No government official — including the President — is above the law, and all government officials are presumed to follow the law as has been declared,” the judge said.
