Garnier

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

11 CHRISTOPHER GARNIER; and Case No.: 3:17-cv-02215-BEN-JLB KIMBERLY GARNIER,

FINDINGS OF FACT AND

Plaintiffs,

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

v. MICHELLE O’CONNOR-RATCLIFF; and THOMAS JOSEPH ZANE, 16 Defendants.

Plaintiffs Dr. Christopher Garnier and Ms. Kimberly Garnier (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) are parents of children in the Poway Unified School District (“PUSD”). Defendants Ms. Michelle O’Connor-Ratcliff and Mr. Thomas Joseph Zane (collectively, “Defendants”) are members of the PUSD Board of Trustees. Plaintiffs allege Defendants blocked them from commenting on their Facebook and Twitter pages, depriving them of their federal constitutional rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Compl., ECF No. 1. Plaintiffs also allege violation of their state constitutional rights. Id. This case is one of a growing number applying the First Amendment to the activities of elected officials on social media platforms. See, e.g., Knight First Amendment Inst. at Columbia Univ. v. Trump, 928 F.3d 226…