Senator loses bid to toss out suit on blocked posts

LITTLE ROCK — Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Conway, suffered a setback Tuesday in his effort to block individuals from his social media accounts when a federal judge denied his motion to dismiss the lawsuit against him in his individual capacity.

U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker ruled the lawsuit against Rapert, led by the national American Atheists group, can move forward, but she affirmed an earlier ruling granting him qualified immunity and dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims for monetary damages in Rapert’s individual capacity.

Baker ruled the only remedies still being sought are declarative and injunctive relief and denied a motion to dismiss the case altogether.

Baker’s ruling Tuesday is part of an ongoing legal battle over whether Rapert violated the First Amendment when he blocked atheists from his social media page.

Rapert has contended his social media accounts are strictly personal and not affiliated with his job as a state senator, despite using them to seek input from constituents.

“Jason Rapert’s legal arguments never held water, and now the court has told him so,” said Geoffery Blackwell, litigation counsel at American Atheists in a release. “Our clients are already preparing for their day in court, and I expect the court to ultimately grant us the injunction we are seeking. Rapert will have to respect the First Amendment rights of his constituents and of all Arkansans.”

A federal appeals court in Virginia ruled in January 2019 politicians violate the First Amendment when they ban their constituents from “official” social media pages, making the question of whether the accounts are personal or official a major issue.