Judge Rules Trump Violated First Amendment by Blocking Users on Twitter A Manhattan judge ruled on Wednesday that the president cannot block Twitter users if they are critical of him. The case was originally filed by several Twitter users who were blocked by Trump, as well as the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. Federal District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald said that by blocking the users, Trump infringed upon speech that is protected under the First Amendment. The viewpoint-based exclusion of the individual plaintiffs from that designated public forum is proscribed by the First Amendment and cannot be justified by the president’s personal First Amendment interests. The president and Dan Scavino, the White House social media director, often tweet several times a day from the @realDonaldTrump account.