Laura Loomer has vowed to “keep fighting” after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected her bid to revive a lawsuit against Meta and X.
Writing on X, the right-wing activist said she will continue “fighting for those who have been silenced” after the court declined to take up an appeal alleging the social media companies violated civil racketeering laws by banning her from their platforms when she ran for Congress in Florida in 2020 and 2022. Loomer had argued that this decision hampered her ability to compete in the elections.
Newsweek contacted Loomer and the Supreme Court to comment on this story outside of normal business hours.
Why It Matters
Despite not holding a government or administration role, Loomer, an independent investigative journalist known in part for her anti-Muslim rhetoric and for sharing conspiracy theories, has become an influential voice in the MAGA movement and has been credited for shaping a number of White House decisions. This makes this court decision noteworthy.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, politics has become increasingly polarized, with debates about free speech raging. Loomer failing to get her day in court may reignite these debates and raise questions about the power of social media while they may also impact trust in the Court, which has seen its approval rating fall in recent years.
What To Know
Loomer was banned from X, then Twitter, in 2018 for posting content the platform deemed “hateful.” A year later, she was banned from Facebook for violating their hate policies. The activist was reinstated to Twitter in 2022 when billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchased the platform.
Loomer challenged these bans and had previously lost in lower courts including a federal court in California in 2023 and the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. These courts ruled that prior lawsuits addressed the same facts and that a law called Section 230 gave the social media companies legal immunity for content-moderation decisions.
After the Supreme Court rejected her appeal, on X, Loomer wrote: “I am proud to have fought as hard as I have for the millions of Americans, including President Trump, who have been unjustly and maliciously silenced and censored by Big Tech executives like Jack Dorsey and Mark Zuckerberg, both of whom HATE MAGA and think they are God.”
She added that the companies “conspired together to steal our elections and censor Trump and his supporters.”
“I’ll keep fighting for those who have been silenced,” she added. “I have been fighting for free speech for years.”
She continued: “I may not ever get the justice I deserve, but I’m still standing with my head tall after being knocked down by the most powerful tech companies in the world.
“It’s not about whether you get knocked down. It’s about whether you get back up and keep swinging.”
In another post, she wrote: “SCOTUS sucks. We all know it’s a big joke anyway.”
What People Are Saying
CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams said: “The fact that they turned down this relatively fringe case from Laura Loomer, it was not grounded in much reality, shouldn’t really shock anybody.”
Loomer’s attorneys wrote in a court filing: “Social media is critical to campaigns, especially during COVID-19 restrictions that limited traditional campaigning methods like door-to-door canvassing and public events.”
What Happens Next
It is unclear what Loomer will do next to pursue her claims against the companies.