ACLU of Indiana says Boone County blocked resident on Facebook, violating First Amendment
Update: This article was updated May 17 with comment from the Boone County Commissioners.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana has filed a lawsuit against Boone County on behalf of a resident who said he was blocked from the county’s Facebook page after posting his intent to vote for a commissioner’s challenger, the organization announced on Monday.
The ACLU in the lawsuit complaint said Boone County blocked resident Kevin Dininger from its Facebook page after he commented his support for a county commissioner’s challenger in response to a letter posted, and signed, by the county’s three commissioners on Facebook regarding delays to a building project. The trio in its letter cast blame on the Boone County Council's president for the project's purported delays.
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Dininger in the lawsuit complaint said he considered the letter “inappropriate," and as a response, posted on the county's page that he would now vote for Republican Tim Beyer in the commissioner's race.
The ACLU in the complaint said the county first limited all comments under the open letter after Dininger’s post, and Dininger proceeded to make another post to his personal Facebook page about the matter.
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The ACLU said the county then blocked Dininger from its Facebook altogether, which the organization said is “viewpoint-based discrimination” and violates Dininger’s First Amendment rights.
“Boone County’s practice of silencing citizens on Facebook who are critical of the County’s actions is unconstitutional,” Gavin Rose, Senior Attorney of ACLU of Indiana, said in a statement.
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The Boone County Commissioners said Tuesday they take these allegations seriously.
"A thorough internal investigation has been launched into the matter. Updates will be provided and a response will be issued at the conclusion of this investigation. The Commissioners are strong proponents of the First Amendment and believe in everyone's right to free speech," the commissioners said in a prepared statement.
The justice center project is expected to cost $58 million, according to the county commission, and was proposed as a way to increase jail space.
Dininger in the complaint asked the county to unblock him from its Facebook page and restore his ability to comment in his list of requests he’s seeking in the suit.
Contact IndyStar reporter Sarah Nelson at 317-503-7514 or sarah.nelson@indystar.com
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Lawsuit: Boone County violated First Amendment by blocking resident
