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The town council of Kingsford Heights in northwest Indiana refuses access to its private Facebook page to people based on their content and expressed viewpoints, the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana is alleging in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday.
The ACLU of Indiana, representing two residents, is accusing the town council of violating residents’ First Amendment rights.
In one example cited in the lawsuit, a man was removed from the page after he posted a comment in another forum that was critical of the town council’s leadership. Another woman was allegedly removed after she asked a “simple question” — again in a different forum — about campaign-related statements from a council member.
Operating a private Facebook page is a First Amendment violation on its own, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division.
The lawsuit provides a link to the town council page, but it leads to a page that says the content isn’t available.
“When this happens, it’s usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it’s been deleted,” the message from Facebook says.
Indiana Lawyer has reached out to the town council president, Dennis Francis, for comment. Court records do not yet list counsel for the town.
The council uses the page, called “Town Council News,” to share proposed ordinances, information about meetings and other things, according to the complaint.
“The ‘private’ nature of this Facebook group, however, means that only persons who are members of the group may access information shared by the Town Council or may comment on the information shared by the Town Council’s or on other persons’ comments in the group,” the lawsuit says.
There were 232 members of the page as of June 7, the complaint says. Kingsford Heights had a population of 1,335 people as of the 2020 census.
In addition to denying access to some, the lawsuit says the town council routinely deletes members’ comments.
The ACLU is asking the court to issue a preliminary injunction enjoining the town and town council from maintaining a private Facebook page or, alternatively, enjoining them from refusing access to the page.
The ACLU is also asking the court to enjoin the town and town council from deleting comments on the basis of content or viewpoint.
Finally, the suit is seeking declaratory judgment that the defendants violated the plaintiffs’ rights.
The case is Michael Easley, and Emily Galloway v. Town of Kingsford Heights, Indiana, and the Town Council of Kingsford Heights, Indiana, 3:23-cv-00563.
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