Kolkhorst 1st Amendment Lawsuit
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I have sued my state Senator for violating my right to free speech and I could use the help of an attorney with experience in this area of law. I have found an attorney that is ready & willing, but due to other Pro Bono clients, they can’t afford to work my case for free and I can’t afford to pay them even the discounted rate they offered. Why the hell did I file a lawsuit I can’t afford? Because I truly believe in my heart that what she did was unconstitutional and the facts of my case are ideal for a court challenge. Also, since I am an attorney (not licensed in Texas), I can help the attorney in order to keep costs down, but there are some things they will do so much better than I can. Now, if I drop the lawsuit, injustice wins. It can’t win! Help me!!
I know you were hoping you would never have to think about the infamous Texas “Bathroom Bill” again, but I have filed a lawsuit against the author of that bill, Lois Kolkhorst, my own state Senator, for violating my right to free speech. I have filed it “Pro Se,” representing myself, but I could really use an attorney’s assistance who specializes in this area of law.
In March of 2017, after Texas State Senator Lois Kolkhorst had submitted the “Bathroom Bill” (would have regulated which bathroom individuals could use in public buildings according to their sex at birth, including transgender children in school buildings.) I found her “government official” Facebook page to register my dissent - politely and with facts. This page is the very same page Facebook takes you to when you use their “Town Hall” app to help you connect with your elected representatives based on your home address. After I posted my comments to Kolkhorst’s post about the Bathroom Bill, she or someone who works for her deleted my comments. Then, after I reposted them, she restricted me so that I could no longer make any comments on her page. I called her office and asked that they remove the restrictions multiple times to no avail. I am still, to this day, over two years later, not able to make comments on her page. It turns out that she deleted ANY comments she didn’t like, no matter the subject matter, and continues to do so.
She has a personal page on Facebook, so this page is the only other page she uses to interact with the public, and specifically, with her constituents, which I am. Facebook makes her aware of when a constituent comments on a post by attaching a constituent icon to any comments I/they make to that Facebook page. Yet, she claims the page is her “campaign” page, not her Senator page, and that she is free to invite and then delete anyone’s political speech that expresses a viewpoint she doesn’t agree with on that page - even concerning legislation she authored and will be voting on in the near future - even when she asks for constituent feedback.
I believe this is a violation of my 1st Amendment right to free speech. Some courts have agreed, in general, but the law is not settled in Texas. So for now, any Texas government official can reap the benefits of public discourse on social media while censoring speech they don’t like - making it appear as though there is little to no public opposition to a controversial piece of legislation, for example, when the opposite may be true.
If you believe this censorship is unconstitutional and want to help settle this issue in Texas so that, hopefully, your elected representatives will think twice before censoring your political speech, please donate to my fund. I appreciate your consideration and support.
Funds donated will be used to pay the attorney to help with this case. If we win and the Defendant has to pay our costs, including attorneys fees, those funds will be donated to The Institute for Free Speech:
https://www.ifs.org/
I know you were hoping you would never have to think about the infamous Texas “Bathroom Bill” again, but I have filed a lawsuit against the author of that bill, Lois Kolkhorst, my own state Senator, for violating my right to free speech. I have filed it “Pro Se,” representing myself, but I could really use an attorney’s assistance who specializes in this area of law.
In March of 2017, after Texas State Senator Lois Kolkhorst had submitted the “Bathroom Bill” (would have regulated which bathroom individuals could use in public buildings according to their sex at birth, including transgender children in school buildings.) I found her “government official” Facebook page to register my dissent - politely and with facts. This page is the very same page Facebook takes you to when you use their “Town Hall” app to help you connect with your elected representatives based on your home address. After I posted my comments to Kolkhorst’s post about the Bathroom Bill, she or someone who works for her deleted my comments. Then, after I reposted them, she restricted me so that I could no longer make any comments on her page. I called her office and asked that they remove the restrictions multiple times to no avail. I am still, to this day, over two years later, not able to make comments on her page. It turns out that she deleted ANY comments she didn’t like, no matter the subject matter, and continues to do so.
She has a personal page on Facebook, so this page is the only other page she uses to interact with the public, and specifically, with her constituents, which I am. Facebook makes her aware of when a constituent comments on a post by attaching a constituent icon to any comments I/they make to that Facebook page. Yet, she claims the page is her “campaign” page, not her Senator page, and that she is free to invite and then delete anyone’s political speech that expresses a viewpoint she doesn’t agree with on that page - even concerning legislation she authored and will be voting on in the near future - even when she asks for constituent feedback.
I believe this is a violation of my 1st Amendment right to free speech. Some courts have agreed, in general, but the law is not settled in Texas. So for now, any Texas government official can reap the benefits of public discourse on social media while censoring speech they don’t like - making it appear as though there is little to no public opposition to a controversial piece of legislation, for example, when the opposite may be true.
If you believe this censorship is unconstitutional and want to help settle this issue in Texas so that, hopefully, your elected representatives will think twice before censoring your political speech, please donate to my fund. I appreciate your consideration and support.
Funds donated will be used to pay the attorney to help with this case. If we win and the Defendant has to pay our costs, including attorneys fees, those funds will be donated to The Institute for Free Speech:
https://www.ifs.org/
Organizer
Lani Clark
Organizer
Bellville, TX
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