Vernikov, a Republican from southern Brooklyn, is accused in the suit filed Monday of blocking Anzhela Pinkhasov from viewing or replying to any tweets posted or reposted by the Council member on her official Twitter profile.
Pinkhasov, who describes herself as a “vocal” Vernikov critic and constituent of her Brighton Beach-based 48th Council District, charges in Brooklyn Federal Court papers that the GOP politician in blocking her is violating the First Amendment “because it imposes a viewpoint-based restriction” on her “participation in a public forum.” She’s asking a judge to rule Vernikov’s action unconstitutional and order that she be unblocked.
Vernikov did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday.
Noting that Vernikov is a licensed attorney, Pinkashov’s suit states that the lawmaker “apparently did not do her legal research when deciding to take her unlawful actions.”
“The practice of an elected official blocking constituents has already been litigated with regard to President Donald J. Trump and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who blocked individuals on Twitter, and had previously been found unconstitutional,” the lawsuit charges.
Indeed, Trump and Ocasio-Cortez were both sued in 2019 for blocking critics from engaging with their Twitter handles.
In Trump’s case, a federal appeals court ruled that the then-president was violating the First Amendment rights of his critics by blocking them from his Twitter profile.
After that ruling, Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive Democrat representing parts of the Bronx and Queens, settled a lawsuit brought against her by ex-Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who had alleged she was similarly depriving him of his First Amendment rights by blocking him on Twitter
As part of the settlement, Ocasio-Cortez agreed to unblock Hikind and offered a public apology to him.
Hikind, a prominent supporter of Vernikov, did not return a request for comment Tuesday on Pinkashov’s lawsuit.
Pinkhasov, who posts from a Twitter profile with the name @Angela365305501, has a history of using her handle to bash Vernikov.
“My district turned into a s—thole in just 2 years,” she wrote in a May 4 post. “@InnaVernikov failing us badly! South Brooklyn needs help! Time to vote her out!”
In Trump’s case, a panel of federal appeals court judges determined he could not bar his critics from viewing his Twitter account because he used it to conduct government business and promote official policies.
Pinkashov’s lawsuit made the case that Vernikov uses her account in a similar vein.
“[Her] tweets involve a public interest and matters of official capacity, such as public safety, public housing, sanitation, among other topics,” the suit states.
©2023 New York Daily News, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
