Supreme Court tosses case over Trump effort to block Twitter critics
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a case over former President Donald Trump’s efforts to block critics from his personal Twitter account.
The court said there was nothing left to the case after Trump was permanently suspended from Twitter and ended his presidential term in January.
Twitter banned Trump two days after the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters. The company said its decision was “due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”
The court also formally threw out an appeals court ruling that found Trump violated the First Amendment whenever he blocked a critic to silence a viewpoint.
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a separate opinion arguing that the bigger issue raised by the case, and especially Twitter’s decision to boot Trump, is “the dominant digital platforms themselves. As Twitter made clear, the right to cut off speech lies most powerfully in the hands of private digital platforms.”
Thomas agreed with his colleagues about the outcome of the case, but said the situation raises “interesting and important questions.”
The case concerned the @realDonaldTrump account with more than 88 million followers and Trump’s argument that it is his personal property. The Justice Department argued that blocking people from it was akin to elected officials who refuse to allow their opponents’ yard signs on their front lawns.
But the federal appeals court in New York ruled last year that Trump used the account to make daily pronouncements and observations that are overwhelmingly official in nature.
Uprising at St. Louis jail: Detainees broke windows, set a fire and threw chairs and other items out of a third-floor window during the second significant uprising in two months at a downtown St. Louis jail, leaving city leaders again searching for answers.
At one point Sunday night, inmates at the City Justice Center lowered a rope made of tied-together bedsheets, though none tried to use it to escape, according to media reports.
The aftermath of the uprising was evident Monday. Third-floor windows were destroyed; black charring from the fires lined the areas around the building; the sidewalk below was dotted with splatter marks from unknown debris; an orange jail shirt dangled from a ledge.
“This is a very concerning and dangerous situation, of course, not only for the detainees but all of our personnel who work here,” Mayor Lyda Krewson said.
During the uprising, up to 75 people on the ground shouted support for the inmates. The same jail was the site of a similar uprising Feb. 6. Two smaller skirmishes also have occurred since December.
Biden’s citizen video: President Joe Biden is thanking naturalized Americans for “choosing us” in his official video message to the nation’s newest citizens.
In the brief remarks, Biden references the “courage” of immigrants coming to the U.S. and his own heritage as a descendant of Irish immigrants. He also praises the contribution they will make to American society.
“First and foremost, I want to thank you for choosing us and believing that America is worthy of your aspirations,” Biden says in the video, calling the U.S. “this great nation of immigrants.”
“You all have one thing in common — courage,” Biden says in the video, released Monday. “The courage it takes to sacrifice and make this journey. The courage to leave your homes, your lives, your loved ones, and come to a nation that is more than just a place but rather an idea. An idea that where everyone is created equal and deserves to be treated equally.”
It’s a tonal shift from former President Donald Trump, who released a video later in his first year in office that echoed his campaign rhetoric on teaching American values and heritage.
Myanmar celebrities: Myanmar’s ruling junta stepped up its campaign against celebrities who support nationwide protests against its seizure of power, publishing wanted lists in the state press and warning against using their work.
The move follows weeks of escalating violence by security forces in breaking up street protests against the Feb. 1 coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. At least 570 protesters and bystanders, including 47 children, have been killed since the takeover, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which monitors casualties and arrests. The coup reversed the country’s gradual return to democracy after five decades of military rule.
The lists published Sunday and Monday in the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper include actors, actresses, musicians and social media influencers charged with violating Section 505(A) of the Penal Code for “spreading news to affect state stability.” The penalty for the offense is up to three years’ imprisonment.
A chart filling most of a page lists 20 people, along with photos, hometowns and Facebook pages of each.
Ex-Turkey admirals: Turkish authorities Monday detained 10 retired admirals after a group of more than 100 former top navy officers declared their commitment to an international shipping treaty, a statement that government officials tied to Turkey’s history of military coups.
The retired admirals were held as part of an investigation into whether they had reached “an agreement with the aim of committing a crime against the security of the state and the constitutional order,” Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported. The chief prosecutor in Ankara launched the investigation Sunday.
Four other former navy officers were asked to report to authorities within three days but not detained because of their advanced ages, Anadolu reported
Authorities also stripped the suspects of their rights to government housing and bodyguards, the news agency said.
Minor quake in LA: A magnitude 4.0 earthquake gave the Los Angeles area a jolt before dawn Monday.
The 4:44 a.m. quake was centered in the Inglewood area east of Los Angeles International Airport, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
It also was relatively deep, at 12 miles.
The USGS said light shaking was reported across the greater metropolitan area and no significant damage was expected.
“Would have been felt by most people awake in LA,” veteran seismologist Lucy Jones tweeted.
A magnitude 3.3 tremor was the largest of several foreshocks, and a series of small aftershocks followed.
“The aftershocks are normal,” Jones said.