Jewish Professor Sues Trump For Blocking Him On Twitter

By Sam Kestenbaum July 11, 2017

A Jewish professor of sociology is among the seven individuals suing President Trump and his communication teams, alleging that they’re violating the Constitution by blocking people on Twitter.

Philip N. Cohen, a 49-year-old professor at the University of Maryland, was blocked by the @realDonaldTrump account after responding to Trump on Twitter last summer and calling him a “Corrupt Incompetent Authoritarian,” according to the complaint filed in New York today.

See you in court, Mr. President (about that Twitter account blocking) https://t.co/E0oxrp6uQ2 pic.twitter.com/pTlnTHOdTI

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)
I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Email(Required)

— Philip N Cohen (@familyunequal) July 11, 2017

In June 6, 2016, Cohen replied to a Trump tweet about air traffic control with a tweet of a photo of Trump. “Corrupt Incompetent Authoritarian. And then there are the policies. Resist,” Cohen wrote.

The tweet received 307 likes and 35 retweets.

About 15 minutes later, Cohen found that he had been blocked by the @realDonaldTrump account, meaning he cannot see any of the president’s Tweets.

Contact Sam Kestenbaum at [email protected] or on Twitter,@skestenbaum

Sam Kestenbaum is a contributing editor and former staff writer for the Forward. Before this, he worked for The New York Times and newsrooms in Sana, Ramallah and Beijing. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum and on Instagram at @skestenbaum.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO