Listen Live
WERE AM Mobile App 2020

LISTEN LIVE. LIKE US ON FACEBOOK. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

The Buzz Cincy Featured Video
CLOSE
Former President Donald Trump Rallies Supporters In Georgia

Republican Vernon Jones speaks to supporters of former President Donald Trump during a Save America rally at the Banks County Dragway on March 26, 2022, in Commerce, Georgia. | Source: Megan Varner / Getty

Did y’all know that if you’re a public official, you can be sued for blocking a detractor on social media? I didn’t know that. You didn’t know that.

Former Dekalb County CEO and current CEO of Sunken Trump-Humpin’ Inc. (I might have made that up) Vernon Jones just found out the hard way that blocking a constituent on Facebook reads as censorship if one is a public servant.

According to WSB-TV, a federal judge has ordered Jones to pay $45,652 in damages and legal fees to a man he blocked from his Facebook page because the two got into one of, like, a bazillion political debates had on Facebook at any given time—and one Jones apparently grew disinterested in continuing so he invited his comment section rival to join his non-partisan BLOCK party. 

From WSB-TV:

Jones blocked DeKalb County resident Tomas Miko from his Facebook page after they exchanged comments and political opinions in 2020 when Jones was a state representative.

After the exchange, Jones deleted Miko’s comments.

Miko filed a federal lawsuit against Jones, claiming Jones deleted Miko’s comments to silence his criticism.

U.S. District Judge Stephen Grimberg said in a decision issued last year, that when public figures block constituents from their social media profiles to prevent them from expressing opposing viewpoints, that constitutes “viewpoint discrimination.”

On Tuesday, Grimberg awarded $8,000 to Miko for compensatory damages.

Grimberg also ordered Jones to pay $37,652 in costs and legal fees to Miko’s attorneys.

Who knows what Jones and Miko were even arguing about? It’s not hard to imagine how simple a thing it is to get under the skin of a Black man who thinks “straight white males deserve a Pride Month,” so trying to narrow down what made Jones block a constituent is futile.

There was that time when he stormed off set during an interview with right-wing podcaster Stew Peters, who grilled him about being sued by white men accusing him of racially discriminating against white people while he was a Democrat and Dekalb County’s first Black CEO. There was also that time the GOP prop stormed out of a GOP event after throwing a tantrum because his political opponent at the time was set to *checks notes* speak after him.

So, basically, Jones — who is similar in nature to the type of partisan “prop” whose Blackness is politically weaponized by Republicans — storms out of places because reality doesn’t have a block button. I’m just going to assume he can’t be sued for that.

Or can he?

SEE ALSO:

Trump Lackey Vernon Jones Gets Trounced In Georgia House Runoff Race

Black Republican Vernon Jones Says Straight White Males ‘Deserve’ Their Own Pride Month

The post GOP ‘Prop’ Vernon Jones Ordered To Pay More Than $45K For Blocking A Constituent On Facebook appeared first on NewsOne.

GOP ‘Prop’ Vernon Jones Ordered To Pay More Than $45K For Blocking A Constituent On Facebook  was originally published on newsone.com