Meet the Congressman who's blocking his constituents online (HBO)
Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar suggested the participants in the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville in August may have been organized by an “Obama sympathizer” and funded by George Soros, whom Gosar accused of having “turned in his own people to the Nazis.”
Gosar made these comments — and there is no evidence backing these theories — to VICE News in an interview about one of his constituents who is suing him in federal court for blocking her on his official Facebook page. The constituent, J’aime Morgaine, argues that Gosar is violating her First Amendment right to engage in debate in a virtual public forum.
The congressman justifies blocking Morgaine and hundreds like her by pointing to the attempted assassination of Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise. Scalise, a Republican, was shot at a congressional baseball practice in June by a homeless man who belonged to left-wing Facebook groups. Hateful comments on social media, Gosar said, could lead to violence. Gosar is a Republican. Morgaine made critical comments on his page from a liberal perspective.
This segment originally aired Thursday, October 5th on VICE News Tonight on HBO.
