Woman sues Russian-speaking New York city councilwoman for blocking her on Twitter

A Russian-speaking New Yorker sued city council member Inna Vernikov for blocking her on Twitter by a politician. Details told the publication New York Daily News.

Petitioner Anzhela Pinkhasov claims that she can no longer see or comment on posts on the official Twitter account of Vernikov, a Republican who has passed to the city council in the 48th district in South Brooklyn.

Pinkhasov says she is a voter in the 48th constituency and also describes herself as an "ardent" critic of Vernikov. In the lawsuit, the woman claims that by blocking her, the politician violated the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of speech. According to the plaintiff, such blocking prevents people from discussing and criticizing Vernikov’s ideas “by imposing on everyone the point of view of only Vernikov herself.”

Pinkhasov noted that Vernikov uses her Twitter account to discuss public and political issues, and therefore she should not exclude people from the discussion.

“Her tweets deal with public issues, in particular public safety, housing, sanitation and other important topics,” the lawsuit says.

“The deputy, who is also a licensed lawyer, apparently did not conduct legal research when deciding to commit her illegal actions,” the plaintiff sums up.

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Pinkhasov, who is registered on Twitter as @Angela365305501, has repeatedly criticized the work of Vernikov in the City Council.

“My neighborhood turned to shit in just two years,” she wrote in a May 4 post. – @InnaVernikov let us down a lot! South Brooklyn needs help!"

This is not the first such lawsuit in the US.

The 45th President of the United States Donald Trump and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have previously been sued for blocking critics on social media.

In Trump's case, a federal appeals court panel ruled in 2019 that he could not prevent his critics from reading his Twitter posts because he used the social network to conduct government business and advance official policy.

The lawsuit against Ocasio-Cortez was settled through a settlement agreement: she unblocked the plaintiff and brought him a public apology.