By: Ari Blaff – nationalreview.com – July 5, 2023

Terry Doughty, a Louisiana federal judge, issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday blocking certain federal agencies and officials, including the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services, from communicating with social-media platforms.

The ruling comes after the attorney generals of Louisiana and Missouri filed a lawsuit arguing that federal officials overstepped their mandates and curtailed conservative speech throughout the pandemic.

Judge Terry Doughty wrote that he is likely to side with the plaintiffs on the merits of the case but issued a temporary injunction preventing communication between the government and big tech companies — save for matters pertaining to criminal activity or national-security threats — until the case is resolved.

“The Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits in establishing that the Government has used its power to silence the opposition,” Doughty wrote in court filings published on Tuesday.

“Opposition to COVID-19 vaccines; opposition to COVID-19 masking and lockdowns; opposition to the lab-leak theory of COVID-19; opposition to the validity of the 2020 election; opposition to President Biden’s policies; statements that the Hunter Biden laptop story was true,” the federal judge continued. “All were suppressed.”

“It is quite telling that each example or category of suppressed speech was conservative in nature. This targeted suppression of conservative ideas is a perfect example of viewpoint discrimination of political speech. American citizens have the right to engage in free debate about the significant issues affecting the country.”

The temporary injunction specifically named high-ranking Biden administration officials, including DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency leader Jen Easterly.

Senator Eric Schmitt (R., Mo.), who served as the state’s attorney general until January 2023, applauded the decision. “Today’s court win is a huge win for the First Amendment and a blow to censorship,” the Missouri Senator wrote on Independence Day.

“Orwellian Ministry of Truth exposed,” he added a few hours later.

Schmitt’s counterpart, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, was similarly pleased with the outcome.

“The evidence in our case is shocking and offensive with senior federal officials deciding that they could dictate what Americans can and cannot say on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other platforms about COVID-19, elections, criticism of the government, and more,” Landry told the Associated Press.

Meanwhile, an anonymous source in the White House condemned the ruling.

“This administration has promoted responsible actions to protect public health, safety, and security when confronted by challenges like a deadly pandemic and foreign attacks on our elections,” the unnamed source told the AP. “Our consistent view remains that social media platforms have a critical responsibility to take account of the effects their platforms are having on the American people, but make independent choices about the information they present.”

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Source: Terry Doughty Blocks Biden Officials From Coordinating Censorship With Social-Media Companies | National Review