Lawsuit accuses Indiana sheriff of silencing online critics

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana is suing an Indiana sheriff over claims he silenced critics on a government-run Facebook page.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court, accuses Henry County Sheriff John Sproles of blocking accounts and deleting critical comments.

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The suit claims these actions represent “viewpoint-based discrimination” and violate the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The ACLU of Indiana filed the suit on behalf of a podcaster named Kristopher Bilbrey whose comments were deleted from the sheriff’s page.

“The interactive portion of a public official’s Facebook page is considered a public forum, thus public officials cannot block constituents from commenting because of the opinions they hold,” ACLU senior attorney Gavin M. Rose said in a statement. “Sheriff Sproles’s action of silencing a citizen on Facebook who is critical of his positions is unconstitutional.”

In an email Friday, Sproles said he was unaware of the lawsuit.