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Judge: President can't block critics on Twitter

Posted at 12:50 PM, May 23, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-23 13:50:33-04

A federal judge in New York says President Donald Trump violates the First Amendment by blocking critics on Twitter for political speech.

Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald (rees BUHK'-wahld) in Manhattan issued the written decision Wednesday.In ruling, she said no government official -- including the president -- is above the law.

The case was brought last July by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and seven individuals blocked by Trump after criticizing the Republican president.

After a hearing this year, the judge had suggested that Trump mute rather than block some of his critics. At the time, a Justice Department attorney agreed that muting would enable Trump to avoid a tweet he doesn't want to read.