In looking at the Pike County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, I noticed that they would not allow any comments on any subject matter.
This concerned me, so I did some research on this matter and found that the ACLU of Mississippi had sent letters to Governor Tate Reeves, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, Petal Mayor Hal Marx, Congressman Steve Palazzo and the Jones County Sheriff’s Department, warning these public officials that by blocking members of the public from their social media accounts, they are violating the First Amendment.
This action is equivalent to closing public meetings to disagreeing constituents. The ACLU also went on to say that the interactive sections are designated public forums created by government designation of a place or channel of communication for use by the public at large for assembly and speech for use by certain speakers or for the discussion of certain subjects.
I did call the sheriff’s office and spoke to the person who manages their Facebook account, and informed her that not being able to make comments on their Facebook page was a violation of my First Amendment rights.
She informed me that the privacy button on their Facebook page allowed them the authority to stop comments, and that she only did what the sheriff and chief deputy instructed her to do in regard to their Facebook page.
She also told me that she would bring my concerns to the attention of the sheriff and the chief deputy. However, at this writing nothing has been changed in the way of allowing comments to made on their Facebook page.
I believe had they been proactive in this matter and checked with the county attorney I would not be writing this letter.
— James Muirhead, McComb
