Consumer Law
A Rhode Island Lawsuit Over a Mayor’s Facebook Block Is Settled
A lawsuit filed by two Woonsocket residents who said the city’s mayor violated their First Amendment rights when she deleted their critical posts from her Facebook page and then blocked them has been settled, the American Civil Liberties Union said Wednesday.
Under a stipulation filed in court, Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt agreed to no longer block people from her page “based on First Amendment-protected viewpoints expressed,” the civil rights organization said.
The city also agreed to pay $7,000 in fees and court costs.
City attorney John DeSimone said early last month when the federal suit was filed that Baldelli-Hunt had already unblocked the constituents, Greg Duhamel and Thomas Dubois. A message was left with DeSimone on Wednesday.
