City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov is being sued by a constituent who alleges she broke the law by blocking her on Twitter — a case with striking similarities to a successful lawsuit brought against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a few years ago.Vernikov, a Republican from southern Brooklyn, is accused in the suit filed Monday of blocking Anzhela Pinkhasov from viewing or replying to any tweets posted or reposted by the Council member on her official Twitter profile.Pinkhasov, who describes herself as a “vocal” Vernikov critic and constituent of her Brighton Beach-based 48th Council District, charges in Brooklyn Federal Court papers that the GOP politician in blocking her is violating the First Amendment “because it imposes a viewpoint-based restriction” on her “participation in a public forum.” She’s asking a judge to rule Vernikov’s action unconstitutional and order that she be unblocked.Inna Vernikov Vernikov did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday.Noting that Vernikov is a licensed attorney, Pinkashov’s suit states that the lawmaker “apparently did not do her legal research when deciding to take her unlawful actions.”“The practice of an elected official blocking constituents has already been litigated with regard to President Donald J. Trump and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who blocked individuals
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NYC Councilwoman Inna Vernikov sued for blocking constituent on Twitter in echo of AOC case
