GOP Governor Chastised, Denounced for Blocking ‘The Only Black Woman in the Kentucky Legislature’

Lawmaker Says She ‘Cannot Imagine How the Only Black Woman in the Kentucky Legislature Is a Threat to You’

A report by the nonprofit investigative journalism powerhouse ProPublica finds that 22 federal agencies and every governor that responded are blocking nearly 1300 people on social media. Kentucky’s Tea Party Republican governor Matt Bevin is blocking more than half of those himself.

Monday morning, Kentucky Democratic lawmaker Rep. Attica Woodson Scott‏ found she was one of those blocked by Gov. Bevin.

Posting a screenshot of the message she received when trying to access Gov. Bevin’s profile on Twitter, Rep. Scott took to the social media platform to share the news – and her outrage – saying she “cannot imagine how the only Black woman in the Kentucky legislature is a threat to you.”

Her message did not stop there.

Suggesting Gov. Bevin’s action might be racist or sexist, she asked if it is his official policy to block state lawmakers. She called him an “insult” to the office and scolded him for not being able to handle political truths.

On Twitter, others chimed in:

Also on Monday The Courier Journal reports Gov. Bevin’s office “broke the law” in how it operates its Facebook page.

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin’s office violated state open records law by refusing to release certain “key words” it uses to filter “profane, obscene or clearly off-topic comments” from its Facebook page, according to Attorney General Andy Beshear.

The opinion, released Monday, follows an appeal by the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, which wants to know which terms Bevin’s office uses to screen comments from his Facebook page.

The opinion comes in the midst of a lawsuit against Bevin by the ACLU on behalf of two people who say they were unfairly blocked from the governor’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. The two, Mary Hargis of Morehead and Drew Morgan of Louisville, say the administration’s decision to block them violates their constitutional rights to free speech.

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