A pair of Dallas City Council members — Omar Narvaez and Tennell Atkins — appear to have blocked a Dallas Express journalist on X, an action that DX has reported may be unconstitutional.
Neither responded to requests for comment.
In March, Reuters reported that the U.S. Supreme Court has set a new standard to determine whether public officials who act in a governmental capacity when blocking critics on social media have violated the First Amendment — a constitutional right that prevents government actors from limiting individuals’ rights to free speech.
Justices opined in Lindke v. Freed that when government officials block citizens from their social media accounts in an attempt to censor comments critical of their positions on issues or job performance, it constitutes government retaliation and is, therefore, a violation of the First Amendment.
However, the First Amendment applies only to government action — not private enterprise.
In Lindke v. Freed, the matter focused on when an official should be treated as a government actor.
“The Supreme Court has said a public employee meets the state action requirement ‘while acting in his official capacity or while exercising his responsibilities pursuant to state law,’” according to a legal sidebar drafted by the Congressional Research Service. “This test can include individuals who purport to exercise government authority, such as a deputy sheriff who consistently referred to his government authority even when working at a private-sector job.”
Dallas City Council members — at least those who have X profiles — appear to be using those accounts in their official capacities.
As does interim City Manager Kimberly Tolbert, who previously blocked The Dallas Express’ official account a few months ago. During the production of this article, it was discovered that Tolbert had unblocked DX, though it remains unclear when this occurred.
DX detailed in April what may have prompted Tolbert to block the news outlet — that she has taken exception to the reporting of her left-wing sympathies and advocacy. She has neither responded to requests for comment on those issues nor others that Dallas residents have repeatedly said are important to them.
DX has never interacted with any of Tolbert’s posts on X; the publication merely follows her account.
Dallas City Attorney Tammy Palomino’s office has also not responded to a DX request for comment regarding Tolbert blocking the news outlet on the social media platform.