{"id":10036,"date":"2023-09-06T12:49:55","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T19:49:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=10036"},"modified":"2023-09-06T12:50:36","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T19:50:36","slug":"california-lawmaker-apologizes-for-censoring-critics-on-facebook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=10036","title":{"rendered":"California lawmaker apologizes for \u2018censoring\u2019 critics on Facebook"},"content":{"rendered":"

Original Article Link: California lawmaker apologizes for ‘censoring’ critics on Facebook (thecoastnews.com)<\/a><\/p>\n

by\u00a0Jordan Ingram<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

State Sen. Catherine Blakespear issued a public apology today for previously \u201cblocking and censoring\u201d critics on social media, a concession signaling the end of a 15-month legal dispute between the first-term California lawmaker and several of her constituents.<\/p>\n

The apology, posted on Blakespear\u2019s official Facebook page late Tuesday morning, comes just days after The Coast News confirmed\u00a0a settlement had been reached between Blakespear and four Encinitas<\/a>\u00a0residents in a breach of contract and free speech lawsuit filed\u00a0last September.<\/a><\/p>\n

The lawsuit accused the state senator of violating a previously signed settlement agreement by issuing a\u00a0bad-faith apology<\/a>\u00a0and paying a $5,000 fee using her campaign funds rather than personal finances.<\/p>\n

The original out-of-court settlement arose in May 2022 after more than a dozen residents alleged Blakespear had violated their constitutionally protected free speech rights by preventing them from participating on her then-mayoral Facebook page.<\/p>\n

\u201cMembers of the public may be aware that a controversy arose in 2022 regarding claims that I blocked and censored certain individuals on my public social media,\u201d Blakespear wrote on Facebook. \u201cA subsequent lawsuit, J. Garvin Walsh et al v. Blakespear, was then filed against me. The parties to that lawsuit have entered into a settlement agreement and resolved that lawsuit. I, Catherine Blakespear, apologize for blocking and censoring certain individuals on my public social media who I blocked and censored.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Coast News reached out to Blakespear to confirm whether the public apology was part of the recent deal, but Blakespear was \u201cunable to confirm or deny whether this was part of the settlement agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter an 11-hour mediation last Friday, we reached a settlement agreement,\u201d Blakespear told The Coast News in a statement. \u201cThe terms are confidential, but I believe both sides are satisfied with the result, or we wouldn\u2019t have settled. The nature of mediation is that neither side gets everything, but both sides find a way toward resolution. I believe that has happened here. I look forward to returning my full attention to the issues the residents of the 38th District elected me to focus on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garvin Walsh, one of four plaintiffs in the lawsuit, told The Coast News he was pleased with the outcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Plaintiffs are gratified that Ms. Blakespear issued the apology, as she was required to do,\u201d Walsh wrote in a statement. \u201cThe whole thing was an unpleasant experience from the very beginning \u2014 we\u2019re happy now that it is nearly over and that we have surpassed our original goals. We owe a great deal to our attorney, Carla DiMare, whose experience and tenacity were a big factor in our success.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to sources familiar with the matter, negotiations began after the plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal on April 3 in the Fourth District Court of Appeal, a response to\u00a0Blakespear\u2019s anti-SLAPP victory<\/a>\u00a0in May that awarded her more than $120,000 in attorney\u2019s fees.<\/p>\n

DiMare, who felt the Superior Court Judge Blaine Bowman\u2019s anti-SLAPP ruling was \u201cwrongly decided\u201d and inconsistent with the facts of the case, issued a statement to The Coast News shortly after Blakespear\u2019s public apology.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Plaintiffs are very happy about the settlement, and especially happy that Judge Bowman\u2019s erroneous orders have become irrelevant,\u201d DiMare said.<\/p>\n

In May,\u00a0CalMatters<\/a>\u00a0reported that Blakespear had opened a legal defense fund, raising money from interest groups to help with the costly litigation that had dragged on for over a year.<\/p>\n

Blakespear\u2019s fund\u00a0received donations<\/a>\u00a0totaling over $100,000, including a $15,000 loan from her campaign, $45,596 in non-monetary contributions (legal services) from the California Democratic Party and donations from longtime supporter and\u00a0San Diego property giant Gerry Ranglas<\/a>\u00a0of R&V Management ($5,000) and Pechanga Band of Indians ($5,500).<\/p>\n

David Snyder, attorney and executive director of the First Amendment Coalition,\u00a0previously told The Coast News<\/a>\u00a0that such legal cases involving the social media pages of political figures are becoming increasingly common, describing it as an \u201cevolving field of law.\u201d<\/p>\n

In April, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider similar cases involving public officials blocking their constituents on social media platforms, including one from Poway Unified School District.\u00a0The high court will not hear the new issues before the fall.<\/p>\n

Image Credit: Canva<\/p>\n

Original Article Link: California lawmaker apologizes for ‘censoring’ critics on Facebook (thecoastnews.com)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Original Article Link: California lawmaker apologizes for ‘censoring’ critics on Facebook (thecoastnews.com) by\u00a0Jordan Ingram State Sen. Catherine Blakespear issued a public apology today for previously \u201cblocking and censoring\u201d critics on social media, a concession signaling the end of a 15-month legal dispute between the first-term California lawmaker and several of her constituents. The apology, posted…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10037,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nCalifornia lawmaker apologizes for \u2018censoring\u2019 critics on Facebook - San Diego News Desk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=10036\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"California lawmaker apologizes for \u2018censoring\u2019 critics on Facebook - San Diego News Desk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Original Article Link: California lawmaker apologizes for ‘censoring’ critics on Facebook (thecoastnews.com) by\u00a0Jordan Ingram State Sen. 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