SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - In a July 2 story about a man suing Salt Lake City officials, The Associated Press reported that Aaron Johnson hadn’t been blocked on any websites controlled by the city’s administrators. The story should have said that Johnson was blocked under a different name on a Human Rights Commission webpage, an advisory body run by citizens with input from the mayor’s office.
A corrected version of the story is below:
Utah man claims he’s been illegally blocked on social media
A Utah man has filed a pair of lawsuits claiming state and Salt Lake City officials have violated his free speech rights by blocking him on social media
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A Utah man has filed a pair of lawsuits claiming state and Salt Lake City officials have violated his free speech rights by blocking him on social media.
Aaron Johnson told the Salt Lake Tribune that he enjoys ribbing politicians online.
The 53-year-old says he’s been bolstered by a recent federal court decision barring President Donald Trump from blocking people on Twitter.
Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski’s spokesman Matthew Rojas called one filing a meritless screed. Johnson was blocked under a different name on a Human Rights Commission webpage, an advisory body run by citizens with input from the mayor’s office.
He has also been blocked from posting on the city council’s Facebook page.
The lawsuits were filed without the assistance of an attorney.
The first of Johnson’s lawsuits was filed against state officials in January.
State attorneys have asked the court to dismiss the case.
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