Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) argued in a new court filing she’s able to block right-wing provocateur Alex Stein from her personal account @AOC on X, formerly known as Twitter, as it is not run by government employees.
The filing states Ocasio-Cortez blocked Stein from her personal account — but not her official @RepAOC government one — because it “serves the significant interest of the Congresswoman, as a public official and as a private citizen, in protecting herself from abuse and harassment absolutely unrelated to any viewpoint or expression of opinion of any kind.”
Context: At issue is a July 2022 incident in which Stein yelled “abusive, sexist, misogynist, harassing and racist personal epithets” at Ocasio-Cortez from the Capitol steps, according to the filing. Following the incident, the congresswoman blocked Stein from her personal account. He sued her in March over that decision.
The Supreme Court agreed earlier this year to hear arguments in two cases concerning how the First Amendment applies to public officials who opt to block users online.
