Florida Rep. Jason Shoaf: Constituent blocked from Facebook page used for official business

Cases

Case Overview

Florida State Rep. Jason Shoaf uses the Facebook page “Jason Shoaf for Florida House District 7” to conduct official business. In July and August 2023, Rep. Shoaf’s constituent Devin Hardin commented on two posts on the page. In September, Hardin discovered she was blocked from viewing Rep. Shoaf’s Facebook page, and Hardin’s comments are no longer visible on the July and August posts. 

On January 25 and March 12, 2024, FIRE wrote Rep. Shoaf explaining that when government officials open online forums for commentary, the exclusion of disfavored views or speakers from those spaces violates the First Amendment.

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