On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that a tweet from a U.S. congressman that referred to the Muslim community as “allies” was protected by the First Amendment.
Judge Jed Rakoff, a George W. Bush appointee, found that Twitter could have censored the tweet.
The tweet from Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) was sent to Twitter users who were followers of the congressman.
“I know what you are going through and I want to let you know that I know what it feels like to be on the other side of that fight,” the tweet said.
“As an American, I understand that your right to speak is as important as your right not to speak,” Rakoff wrote.
“But I also understand that it is wrong to censor a public figure’s speech.”
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.