Greetings, friends, and welcome back to the fun house.
So here's a copy of the email I sent to the Attorney, Clerk, Council, Manager & Mayor of the City of Covington, GA:
Marshall McCart from Covington, GA here.
I am writing this email today to share some concerns I have concerning Covington Mayor Fleeta Baggett as well as some of her recent actions & activities.
Fleeta has had me blocked on Facebook (FB) for a few years now.
As I’ve come to find out, she has also blocked several others & has been documented deleting & removing comments in posts in which she appears to be acting in her role as Mayor of Covington.
I’ve consulted w/ multiple people & there seems to be a consensus view of the following:
Per the GA Open Records Act (Title 50, Chapter 18, Sections 70 to 77 of the Official Code of GA), social media posts of government officials discussing government-related issues are considered to be public record & have to be compliant w/ the law.
Now, the point of contention for some was that since it was Fleeta's personal Facebook page, then this would be exempt.
There was some ambiguity concerning that concept until March 15, 2024 when the Supreme Court of the United States ruled unanimously in Lindke v. Freed that if a government official is utilizing their own personal social media account in their role as a government official then it would then be considered a "public forum" in which full compliance w/ all relevant laws would be required.
In the opinion of some - myself included - Fleeta's use of her personal FB page has met that threshold & that she has now possibly placed herself as well as the city in an actionable position.
As an aside, there has also been widespread documentation of Fleeta posting & interacting on social media in a way that is rather unbecoming of an elected official, especially that of Mayor of our beloved home city.
On a final note, I just want to express that this is something that I’m really not personally concerned with, Fleeta being Fleeta & all; however, it’s the principle of the matter & also the fact that the law is the law.
To avoid potential litigation under 42 USC Section 1983, Mayor Fleeta Baggett needs to unblock everybody, or at a very minimum, cease using her personal FB profile in a governmental capacity.
- MBM
