Louisiana senator sued over blocking critic on Twitter

Louisiana Sen. Katrina Jackson, D-Monroe, is being sued by the Tulane University First Amendment Law Clinic over her decision to block a critic from the senator’s Twitter account.

New Orleans resident Maya Detiege alleges Jackson violated Detiege’s First Amendment rights when the senator stopped Detiege from seeing, mentioning or engaging with Jackson’s account on Twitter.

“The internet is the modern public square. It is where people go for the exchange of ideas and to engage in political dialogue,” writes Katie Schwartzmann, director of Tulane University’s First Amendment Clinic and Detiege’s attorney, in the lawsuit.

“Senator Jackson’s censorship chills speech and disagreement with her on the internet,” Schwartzmann wrote.

Jackson, who is an attorney, characterized Detiege’s Twitter comments as hate speech that shouldn’t enjoy First Amendment protections.

“I don’t think I have to be subjected, as an African American woman, to hate speech,” she said. “I think the Supreme Court has been very clear on hate speech.”

Detiege, also a Black woman, sent tweets to Jackson in June criticizing the senator’s political views, particularly Jackson’s anti-abortion stance. The senator was the lead sponsor of the legislation that created Louisiana’s strict abortion ban last year.

An initial tweet from Detiege engaging with Jackson’s account included offensive language. She banished Jackson to hell and indirectly called the senator a bitch.

“I say this with all disrespect: burn in hell. You don’t care about women. You don’t care about pregnant people. You don’t care about children. You don’t care about education. I don’t respect all black women. Some of you bitches are very dumb,” Detiege wrote, according to the lawsuit.

Later, Detiege was part of back-and-forth discussion on Twitter with Jackson about whether the senator secured enough funding and resources to offset the impact of an abortion ban.

“You’re the elected official. Did YOU advocate for more? Probably too busy not paying attention in committee meetings when your colleagues were asking questions…Poor response from an elected official. Hope your career ends quickly [praying emoji],” Detiege told Jackson.

Soon after, Jackson blocked Detiege permanently, according to the court filing.

In an interview Thursday, Jackson said the lawsuit took her by surprise and she hadn’t been able to confirm yet that she even blocked Detiege on Twitter. Detiege’s Twitter handle is not mentioned in the lawsuit filed and a search on Twitter also turned up no users with Detiege’s name.

Jackson said it is not unusual for her to block Twitter accounts that use offensive language or engage in what she considers harassment.

“I am not going to run from this,” Jackson said. “If any federal court in our nation considers that protected speech, then African Americans are no longer protected from hate speech.”

“This literally turns on what Black women have to be subjected to,” she said.

In the lawsuit, Schwartzmann characterized Detiege’s interaction as non-threatening.

“Ms. Detiege engaged in the political process and criticized Senator Jackson’s policies,” she wrote. “Senator Jackson blocked Ms. Detiege because of the content and viewpoint of her speech.”

The lawsuit also alleges that Jackson routinely blocks people on Twitter who challenge her political viewpoint. It mentioned a handful of other left-leaning people who are active in Louisiana politics that said they had been blocked by Jackson.

“Senator Jackson blocks users, including Ms. Detiege, according to arbitrary and unclear policies and practices,” Schwartzmann wrote.

Former President Donald Trump was the target of a similar lawsuit from Twitter critics in 2017. They, too, alleged Trump had violated their First Amendment rights by blocking their accounts from engaging with his account.

That lawsuit was ultimately scuttled by the U.S. Supreme Court, which decided it was no longer relevant after Trump left office.

Through the lawsuit, Detiege is seeking to have her Twitter account unblocked by Jackson and her attorneys fees covered, should she win the case.

Editor’s note: The Tulane University First Amendment Clinic gives legal advice to Louisiana Illuminator.

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