The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has reignited the battle for free speech, opting to reconsider a pivotal case that could broaden an injunction against the Biden administration’s alleged censorship push.
“CISA, in particular, serves as the ‘nerve center’ of federal censorship efforts, and its actions in originating, launching, coordinating, and participating in the EIP constitute particularly egregious violations of the First Amendment,” plaintiffs informed the court last week.
The court had initially deemed District of Louisiana Judge Terry A. Doughty’s injunction as “vague and broader than necessary,” criticizing the inclusion of certain officials and agencies. Despite this, the Biden administration’s attempt to pause the injunction met with a temporary freeze by Justice Samuel Alito. The government argued that the ruling imposed “unprecedented limits on the ability of the President’s closest aides to use the bully pulpit to address matters of public concern.”
Jenin Younes, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, expressed her belief in the court’s willingness to reconsider its exclusion of certain agencies.
“In terms of the Supreme Court application, it’s not clear exactly what effect it will have,” she said. “Presumably, SCOTUS can still decide the stay motion. However, it might make them less inclined to grant the government’s petition for cert, since they may want the wrinkles worked out in the Fifth Circuit before they take it up.”
The case in question, known as Missouri v. Biden, involves allegations that various federal officials, including President Biden and others, coerced social media platforms into censoring certain content, allegedly violating the First Amendment.
The plaintiffs, including two states and several individuals, argue that their posts on topics such as the COVID-19 lab-leak theory, pandemic lockdowns, vaccine side-effects, election fraud and the Hunter Biden laptop story were unjustly removed or downgraded by social media platforms under pressure from government officials.
The district court initially granted preliminary injunctive relief, enjoining various federal offices, including the White House, the Surgeon General, the CDC, the FBI, the NIAID, the CISA, and the Department of State from continuing such alleged censorship activities.
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