Rep. Greene agrees not to block critics from Twitter account
LOS ANGELES (AP) — U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and a Los Angeles-based political action committee have reached a settlement that bars the Georgia Republican from blocking anyone from her public Twitter account or other social media while she's in office.
Greene also agreed to pay $10,000 to cover legal fees for MeidasTouch LLC, which plans to donate the money to two nonprofit groups, according to Ben Meiselas, the PAC's co-founder and a lawyer whose clients have included former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
The deal was approved last Friday, he said.
"This was a swift and impactful resolution we are proud of," Meiselas said in an email.
A telephone message seeking comment on the settlement was left at Greene's Washington, D.C., office Thursday.
Greene doesn't acknowledge any wrongdoing in the agreement, which says all parties reached the deal to avoid "the risk, inconvenience and expense of litigation."
MeidasTouch sued Greene in February, contending that she violated its First Amendment rights by blocking it from one of her Twitter accounts after the PAC posted critical comments.
MeidasTouch bills itself as being "dedicated to exposing and opposing anti-democratic politicians." It has posted numerous videos, many of them excoriating former President Donald Trump, and has more than a half-million Twitter followers.
Greene is a Trump supporter who in the past promoted violence against Democrats and conspiracy theories about QAnon and the 9/11 attacks, prompting the House to remove her from two committee assignments last month.
Although it wasn't her formal congressional Twitter account, MeidasTouch said Greene uses it as a "de facto" official account, sharing her positions and doing fundraising drives. The postings generate thousands of replies, according to the lawsuit, which calls it "a kind of virtual town hall in which Greene and her aides use the tweet function to communicate news and information ... and members of the public use the reply function to respond."
The lawsuit said a federal appeals court several years ago ruled in a case involving Trump that a political figure can't use Twitter's blocking function to bar critics from using a social media account that is "otherwise open to the public at large."
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, was sued in a similar case that she later settled.
Under Greene's settlement, the lawmaker restored MeidasTouch's access to her account and agreed that while she's in office, she won't block the PAC or any member of the public from social media accounts that she or her aides use for communicating or fundraising in her role as a congresswoman.
Florida
Police officer shoots pit bull that ran at her
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida police officer shot a 6-year-old pit bull that approached her as she and another officer investigated a case of suspicious activity at an apartment complex, authorities said.
Rachel Robledo called Tampa police to report seeing someone holding a gun on the balcony of a nearby apartment on St. Patrick's Day, news outlets reported.
Police officers who responded to the call couldn't locate the suspect, so they decided to speak to Robledo, officials said.
The bodycam footage taken from the officers shows the woman holding back a pit bull as they approached. But the dog, named Nala, ended up leaving Robledo's apartment and approaching the officers. One officer shot the dog two times, police said.
The dog is recovering, following surgery, news outlets reported.
"She went right to the gun to shoot my dog," Robledo told WFTS. "She could have done pepper spray, she could have done anything else."
After the shooting, the Tampa Professional Standards Bureau, which conducts internal investigations, said the officer "took immediate action to keep herself safe," according to WFLA. The Bureau investigates each time an officer fires their weapon.
"There wasn't time for a taser or negotiating. It was either shoot or get mauled and get attacked," Danny Alvarez, a spokesperson for Tampa Police Benevolent Association, told WFLA.
Robledo's neighbors told WFTS that Nala is loving and kind and questioned why an officer's first reaction was to shoot her. They've also created a GoFundMe to help Robledo pay for Nala's veterinary bills. According to WFTS, Robledo wants police to help with the medical costs as well as take accountability for the incident.
Pennsylvania
Gas drilling firms defeat state’s antitrust lawsuit
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania's highest court has delivered a victory for natural gas exploration firms, ruling that the state attorney general's office doesn't have authority under state law to sue them on antitrust grounds over their mineral rights-leasing practices.
The bid by the attorney general's office to pursue an anti-trust action under state law had attracted the close attention of major business groups in Pennsylvania, the nation's No. 2 gas-producing state.
But the state Supreme Court, in a 6-1 decision late Wednesday, overturned lower court decisions and agreed with Texas-based Anadarko Petroleum Corp. that state consumer protection law does not allow sellers to take action against buyers.
As a result, the court declined to rule on whether the attorney general's office has the legal authority to pursue an anti-trust action under the law.
The attorney general's office sued in 2015, accusing Anadarko and Chesapeake Energy Corp. of Oklahoma City of eliminating competition and shortchanging landowners of signing bonuses and royalties by divvying up counties in northern Pennsylvania in which to lease mineral rights.
Anadarko had argued that it was not a seller of services and not subject to action under state consumer protection law. The companies were buying mineral rights in land leases, not selling, they contended.
Occidental Petroleum Corp. bought Anadarko in 2019. Chesapeake's appeal was dropped from the case last year when it filed for federal bankruptcy protection.
