{"id":79082,"date":"2025-07-09T23:16:33","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T23:16:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2025\/07\/09\/navy-spouse-sues-base-officials-over-free-speech-after-facebook-ban\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:36:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:36:34","slug":"navy-spouse-sues-base-officials-over-free-speech-after-facebook-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2025\/07\/09\/navy-spouse-sues-base-officials-over-free-speech-after-facebook-ban\/","title":{"rendered":"Navy spouse sues base officials over free speech after Facebook ban"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Navy spouse is suing officials at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia, alleging they censored him by banning him from their official government Facebook page. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sergio Rodriguez, an Army veteran and military family advocate who was named 2022 Navy Spouse of the Year by Armed Forces Insurance, alleges his First Amendment rights were violated when officials banned him from the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay\u2019s Facebook page and deleted all his comments in August 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court in Norfolk, Virginia, names Capt. Christopher Bohner, commanding officer of the base, and Scott Bassett, a public affairs officer, as defendants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis case is about ensuring the government can\u2019t silence voices it doesn\u2019t like, especially those speaking up on behalf of others,\u201d said Mike Petrino, senior litigation counsel for the Center for Individual Rights, a nonprofit public interest law firm representing Rodriguez. \u201cThe Navy may not like what Sergio had to say, but the First Amendment prohibits them from shutting him out of a public forum for saying it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rodriguez, who lives in Chesapeake, Virginia, is an advocate for military families who encounter problems with military housing and other issues, and regularly follows official social media pages of various military bases worldwide, according to the lawsuit. He uses those social media pages to advise, mentor and assist families who live on base. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In August 2024, Rodriguez saw on the submarine base\u2019s Facebook page that an electrical power outage had left many military families living on base without power for more than 12 hours, according to the lawsuit. Officials posted that Public Works was on the scene working to restore electricity as quickly as possible, according to a screenshot of the posting included in the lawsuit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rodriguez posted questions about whether the base had a plan to temporarily relocate residents if the power outage continued, and whether officials would provide information on how residents could be reimbursed for their spoiled perishables. Officials responded with a post that those with a claim should start with the Navy Legal Service Office. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly after that, Bassett, at the direction of Bohner, banned Rodriguez from the Facebook page and deleted all of his previous comments, the lawsuit alleges. He had been posting to the base\u2019s Facebook page for the previous four years without incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rodriguez received a call from Bohner\u2019s wife indicating he had been banned from the Facebook page, the lawsuit claims. A few days later, Rodriguez emailed Bassett requesting reinstatement to the Facebook page, but received no response. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Navy\u2019s actions didn\u2019t just block me \u2014 they tried to block the truth,\u201d Rodriguez said in an announcement of the lawsuit. \u201cI was giving families relevant guidance I wish I had when I first started navigating the system. Silencing that helps no one.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials have not given Rodriguez any reason for banning him, according to Rodriguez\u2019s attorneys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Navy doesn\u2019t comment on pending litigation, said Destiny Sibert, a spokeswoman for Commander, Navy Installations Command headquarters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She referred to the Navy\u2019s social media policy, updated in October 2024, which states: \u201cThe Navy may not block individual social media accounts from official Navy social media sites. However, the Navy may delete comments that constitute a violation of law, regulation, or the Navy\u2019s terms of service.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The policy further states that public officials who use social media accounts for official business cannot exclude people from open online discussions simply because they express opposing views, as that would violate the First Amendment. It also notes that the First Amendment doesn\u2019t protect all types of speech, including \u201cobscenity, defamation, fraud, incitement and speech integral to criminal conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Navy\u2019s previous social media policy was more ambiguous and didn\u2019t address First Amendment rights, according to a Military Times comparison of the two policies, but listed specific violations that would result in someone being blocked, such as graphic, obscene, explicit or racist comments or submissions, or comments that are abusive, hateful or intended to defame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the lawsuit, Rodriguez received a commendation from then-President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden for his advocacy for military families. He served in the Army from 2000 to 2006, when he retired due to disability. As of 2010, when his wife joined the Navy, he became a Navy spouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\t