The rampage of the Biden White House through the First Amendment may be drawing to a close if a federal judge gets his way. Judge Terry Doughty of the Western District of Louisiana issued a stinging rebuke of the administration’s efforts to censor social media.
This came in the form of a bombshell preliminary injunction.
In the ruling, Doughty noted that if the case brought by the plaintiffs is true, it “arguably involves the most massive attack against free speech in United States history.” And that’s not all.
He further declared that while Washington tried to stifle supposed “disinformation,” they are “alleged to have blatantly ignored the First Amendment’s right to free speech.” The judge observed that each case of suppressed speech was “conservative in nature.”
Doughty’s 155-page ruling, issued on Independence Day, listed several federal agencies that are no longer allowed to coordinate with social media platforms.
Included are the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Department of Health and Human Services, the FBI, and the Department of Justice.
In other words, a laundry list of Biden agencies that were weaponized against dissenting opinions on COVID-19 as well as political opponents.
CNN is really mad that the Biden White House can’t order social media companies to censor people anymore. There will never be a Ministry of Truth in the United States of America. Government Censorship is much more dangerous than disinformation.
pic.twitter.com/xJ7wzXIwqB— Charles R Downs (@TheCharlesDowns) July 5, 2023
The Trump appointee went so far as to label government censorship actions during the pandemic as akin to “an Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth.’” This despite the natural doubt and uncertainty that the nation endured beginning in 2020.
Doughty concluded that the plaintiffs against the government, led by Missouri and Louisiana, were likely to emerge victorious in their lawsuit. His preliminary injunction put hard brakes on Biden administration officials’ efforts to push social media platforms to take down unfavored content.
Specific individuals targeted by the injunction include press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, employees of the FBI and DOJ, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.
Among those summoned for depositions in the case were Dr. Anthony Fauci and former White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
The lawsuit alleged that the federal government trampled on First Amendment rights and presented many examples to prove its case. Among them were blatant attempts to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story and discussion of COVID-19 lab leak possibilities.
