Columbia Police Dept.'s Anti-Hate Speech Post Sparks First Amendment Challenge

The Columbia Police Department announced on its Facebook page that it would not tolerate hate speech, posting an image that showed an officer with a phone labeled “BLOCK LIST LOADING” and referencing an increase in vulgar, racist and threatening remarks. The post, dated June 25, also included a link to Ariana Grande’s song “thank u, next.” FIRE, a First Amendment advocacy group, wrote to the department’s chief, contending that the police page functions as a public forum and that its moderation policy, which permits removal of comments deemed “inappropriate” or “offensive,” violates constitutional free-speech protections.

FIRE’s letter, signed by director of public advocacy Aaron Terr, asked the department to amend its policy and respond by August 20. The department’s original post and its moderation guidelines were still visible the next day. The dispute echoes prior court rulings that government-run social-media pages cannot engage in viewpoint-based censorship. Over a thousand users commented on the post, many labeling it unconstitutional.