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Two nonprofit organizations sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton after plaintiffs said he blocked a handful of Twitter users who criticized his policies.
The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas filed the lawsuit Thursday in federal court. They are representing nine individuals who lost the ability to view and interact with Paxton's Twitter account, @KenPaxtonTX, following rebukes toward him.
Paxton's behavior was "unconstitutional," attorneys for the organizations said, and they are seeking injunctive relief to unblock the users in question.
"Defendant Texas Attorney General Warren Kenneth Paxton, Jr., ('Attorney General Paxton' or 'Defendant') uses the @KenPaxtonTX Twitter account for official purposes — including to share information with constituents and solicit their views about government policy — but he has blocked many people from the account because they criticized him or his policies," the plaintiffs wrote in the suit. "This practice is unconstitutional."