Trial begins for representative sued over social media use
The bench trial for Missouri Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch, R-Hallsville, who is being sued for blocking a constituent on Twitter was set to begin Friday morning.
The lawsuit’s goal is to prevent politicians from blocking people on social media.
It claims Reisch violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
According to the lawsuit, attorney Mike Campbell retweeted Democratic representative Kip Kendrick’s tweet criticizing Reisch for pointing out her opponent put her hands behind her back during the Pledge of Allegiance.
Campbell said he was permanently blocked on Twitter by Reisch after the retweet.
Campbell’s attorney said back in June, “Lately in Missouri, we’ve seen a lot of government secrecy and a lot of attempts to shut down public debate.”
However, Reisch said the tweet was blown of out proportion. She said she wasn’t trying to “mudsling.”
The trial begins in the Kansas City Federal court at 9 a.m.
