Ohio Sen. Joe Uecker will pay $20,000 as part of a settlement reached in a lawsuit filed after the senator blocked a constituent from posting on his official Facebook page.

Uecker, a Republican from Miami Township in suburban Cincinnati, denied he violated Anthony Famby's constitutional free speech rights when he blocked him on Facebook following comments about Uecker's vote on an abortion bill. Under the agreement, Uecker does not admit guilt but will pay damages and attorney's fees totaling $20,000.

Uecker also cannot block Fambry from his Facebook page unless Fambry threatens or harasses the lawmaker in violation with the social media service's terms. The settlement expires when Uecker leaves office.

Uecker unblocked Fambry within hours of the lawsuit being filed. His comments pressing Uecker on his position on abortion reappeared on the Facebook page soon after.

Fambry, who lives in Batavia, called the settlement a win. He hopes it means other Ohio lawmakers and elected officials won't make the same mistake.

"The message is simple: Public servants can't silence us," Fambry said. "Just because they don't like what we say, they can't silence us."

Ohio Senate GOP spokesman John Fortney said the issue was resolved almost immediately when Uecker unblocked Fambry and wasn't worth litigating long term.

"As always, there are multiple ways for Ohioans to communicate with the General Assembly and we look forward to hearing from them," Fortney said.

The lawsuit is the first of its kind in Ohio, but similar complaints have been made in other states. A federal court judge in New York last year ruled President Donald Trump could not block people on Twitter. Just last month in Wisconsin, a judge ruled state GOP lawmakers violated free speech rights when they blocked a liberal group on Twitter.

A Kentucky judge reached a different conclusion last year, siding with Gov. Matt Bevin in a preliminary ruling in a case brought by the ACLU.

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