Robert Kennedy Jr. may sue the Biden administration for censoring social media posts for the charity Children’s Health Defense, which questions the safety of vaccines, a federal court ruled Tuesday.
“The court finds that Kennedy is likely to prevail on his claim that the suppression of published content was caused by the actions of government defendants, and there is a substantial risk that he will suffer similar harm in the near future,” said the US district judge Terry Doughty from Louisiana wrote in a 20-page decision.
The ruling indicates there is evidence to support Kennedy’s claim that the government pressured major technology companies such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to suppress content shared by his charity, Children’s Health Defense (CHD).
The Kennedy v. Biden lawsuit argued that posts expressing CHD’s skepticism about the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccine mandates and lockdowns were specifically targeted as part of a broader effort by the government to combat what it called “disinformation,” Doughty wrote.
CHD, which was founded by Kennedy, says its mission is to “end childhood health epidemics by eliminating toxic exposure” — earning a reputation from critics for being “anti-vaccine.”
Kim Mack Rosenberg, CHD’s general counsel, applauded the ruling as the “correct conclusion in standing for CHD and Mr. Kennedy.”
“Judge Terry Doughty carefully and clearly analyzed the law and facts, applying the framework of the United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in Murthy v. Missouri regarding standing,” Rosenberg said in a statement.
In the case of Murthy v. Missouri, e.gThe US Supreme Court struck down a similar injunction because he failed to tie censorship directly to the federal government.
The lawsuit, filed by Republican state attorneys general in Missouri and Louisiana, accused the Biden administration of leaning towards Big Tech to remove posts that disagreed with the government’s narrative on the pandemic and other controversial topics.
Now, Kennedy’s lawsuit will be moved back to the 5th District where Doughty’s preliminary injunction against the Biden administration will be reviewed.