Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was sued in Manhattan federal court Tuesday by a critic who claims the New York Democrat blocked his Twitter account in violation of the First Amendment.

Dov Hikind, a Jewish activist and former New York state assemblyman, sued the freshman lawmaker within hours of a federal appeals court ruling in a separate lawsuit brought against President Trump that elected officials cannot use Twitter’s “block” function to prevent users from engaging with their accounts.

“No one is above the law,” Mr. Hikind tweeted. “If the courts ruled POTUS can’t block people on Twitter, why would @AOC think she can get away with silencing her critics?”

Joey Saladino, a YouTube personality also blocked on Twitter by Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, similarly said he sued the congresswoman following the appeals court’s ruling.

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s office declined to comment when reached by The Washington Times.

Both lawsuits against Ms. Ocasio-Cortez were announced on the heels of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upholding a lower court’s ruling that Mr. Trump had violated the First Amendment’s right to free speech by blocking critics on Twitter.

“The First Amendment does not permit a public official who utilizes a social media account for all manner of official purposes to exclude persons from an otherwise-open online dialogue because they expressed views with which the official disagrees,” the judges wrote.

Mr. Hikind, the founder of Americans Against Anti-Semitism, said he was blocked on Twitter by Ms. Ocasio-Cortez a day prior to the appeals court ruling this week.

A cursory search of his Twitter activity indicates he previously tagged the congresswoman’s account in more than 120 tweets since she took office in January, including dozens criticizing her for recently comparing the U.S. government’s migrant detention centers to concentration camps.

He is seeking an injunction requiring Ms. Ocasio-Cortez to unblock his Twitter account, as well as for the congresswoman to cover his legal costs including attorney’s fees.

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