Justice Department appeals ruling that Trump can’t block critics on Twitter

In a ruling last month, U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald said it is a violation of the First Amendment for the president to block users who criticize him on Twitter, as portions of his account serve as a “designated public forum.”

The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed in July by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University on behalf of seven people who were blocked by @realDonaldTrump on Twitter after replying to his tweets with derogatory comments about the president .

The plaintiffs in the case argued that their constitutional rights were violated when the president blocked them.

The Justice Department, though, said in court filings last year that finding the president violated the Constitution by blocking certain Twitter users would “send the First Amendment deep into unchartered waters.”

[Previous coverage: Judge suggests Trump mute, not block, his critics on Twitter]

With more than 52 million followers, Trump has often says that his Twitter account allows him to bypass the media and communicate directly with the American people. Since becoming president, Trump has used his account to make policy and personnel announcements, and comment on matters unrelated to official government business.

In June 2017, for example, the president announced via Twitter his intent to nominate Christopher Wray for director of the FBI. He also used the account to share a new policy banning transgender people from serving in the military.

In the wake of Buchwald’s ruling, Trump has begun to unblock those he previously barred from viewing his account.

One of plaintiffs in the case, Philip Cohen, a sociology professor at the University of Maryland, rejoiced Monday after discovering he had been unblocked.

“We whined. We complained. We sued. We won our First Amendment lawsuit in federal court. And now @realDonaldTrump has unblocked me. Wow!” he tweeted.