DC mayor: City officials can’t block social media followers

WASHINGTON – A report on Metropolitan Police Chief Peter Newsham’s Twitter habits has prompted District of Columbia Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s office to remind city officials of a policy prohibiting removing social media followers.

Newsham told The Washington Post his account, separate from the department’s official account, is meant to convey “positive information about the police” and that he’ll remove or block users who post “cruel and nasty things that are fraught with misinformation.”

Public scrutiny of Newsham’s policy follows lawsuits accusing President Donald Trump, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and other government officials of violating the First Amendment for similar social media use.

Newsham declined to discuss legal implications and said he might close his account if he couldn’t set his own rules.

Bowser’s reminder came after the article’s initial publication Friday.

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Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com