Supreme Court rejects citizen journalist's case against Texas officials who arrested her for reporting

The Supreme Court rejected an attempt by citizen journalist Priscilla Villarreal to revive her civil rights claim against Laredo, Texas, officials.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an attempt by a citizen journalist to revive her civil rights claim after she was arrested for soliciting information from a police officer.

At issue in the case brought by reporter Priscilla Villarreal was whether the officials in Laredo, Texas, could claim the legal defense of "qualified immunity," which would protect them from being sued. The court's refusal to hear the case means her claim that the officials had violated the Constitution’s First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech, cannot go forward.

Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, saying the court made a "grave error" in declining to take up the case.

"It should be obvious that this arrest violated the First Amendment," she wrote.

In 2017, Villarreal, who has a large local following via her Facebook page, had texted a police officer to confirm the identities of a suicide victim and a car accident victim, which were not yet public. She then reported what she had learned.