The Supreme Court has ruled on a case on Monday related to former President Donald Trump’s use of his Twitter account. Specifically, the case dealt with whether or not he was allowed to block users who were repeatedly criticizing him. But Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion is the real headliner.
Twitter users had filed the case Knight First Amendment Institute v. Trump in 2017, which became Knight First Amendment Institute v. Biden in 2021. The claimants argued that the former president had violated their First Amendment rights by blocking their user accounts. While Trump tweeted from his personal account, the Twitter users argued that he had used it in a presidential capacity by releasing official statements, thus making it a “public forum.” In 2018, a judge in New York had ruled that the president’s actions were unconstitutional.
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the concurring opinion stating that dismissing the case was the right thing to do, and noted that Donald Trump is no longer in office.