Our First Amendment rights are extremely important. It’s one thing that both the left and right seem to agree on – at least in general. However, it would seem that when things get a little personal, those like New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez aren’t such a stickler for those rules.
As you might imagine, AOC gets all kinds of comments and heckling online. Being a political figure alone ensures this. And being a loud-mouthed leftist only encourages it. When those kinds of things happen to you and me, the solution is simple. We block certain individuals from our accounts.
However, as a political figure and government official, AOC doing so is essentially a violation of the First Amendment.
In fact, you may remember that back in 2018, then-President Donald Trump was taken to court over this same issue. When he blocked certain individuals, the political left swooped in and told him that wasn’t allowed. And not one but two court rulings sided in favor of the left, agreeing that because of his official capacity as president, he could not block people and, in so doing, deny them their freedom of speech.
In a much quieter case, AOC herself even knows this firsthand.
In 2019, she blocked Brooklyn assemblyman Dov Hikind from her Twitter account after not liking what he said about her. But, as with Trump, the odds were not in her favor. Eventually, she unblocked Hikind and even issued a public apology admitting that her actions violated the First Amendment and that he had a right to express himself online.
However, it doesn’t seem that she’s learned her lesson.
Now, she faces another lawsuit for the same reason.
Comedian Alex Stein has made a habit of targeting AOC online and even in person on occasion. And while his mannerisms and words are rather shameful, it’s pretty hard to deny that AOC still doesn’t have much of a leg to stand on when it comes to blocking him from her online presence.
But she’s still trying…
It’s yet another example of the “rules for thee, but not for me” logic of the political left. And it’s one that AOC isn’t likely to get away with, especially in light of all her other legal troubles.
