Corey DeAngelis, represented by the Liberty Justice Center, won a federal lawsuit against a Kentucky school district for violating his First Amendment rights by blocking him from the district's social media pages and restricting his comments. The district admitted to these actions, which were found to violate Kentucky state law as opined by the state's Attorney General. As part of a consent decree, the district agreed to pay $30,000 in attorneys’ fees and to provide remedial training to its communications staff on First Amendment principles, Open Records, and Open Meetings laws within 12 months. The district also committed to refrain from blocking or deleting DeAngelis’s comments without an independent, content-neutral justification and to avoid viewpoint-based restrictions on social media interactions. The district acknowledged that suppressing criticism related to its campaign against Kentucky’s Amendment 2 would constitute unlawful viewpoint discrimination. The case underscores that government entities and officials can be held liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violating First Amendment rights.
“It is a fundamental violation of the First Amendment and the associational rights of the 14th Amendment to restrict the ability of a political party to support its candidates.” https://t.co/6k5JwlgJ8j
"The District recognizes that the Supreme Court has made clear that government entities and government officials can be held liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violating the First Amendment" https://t.co/1EyEpYAarR
"The District recognizes that by attempting to suppress any suggestion that it might be violating Kentucky law by using its official page to campaign against Amendment 2, the District would be engaging in unlawful viewpoint discrimination." https://t.co/1EyEpYAarR