SEATTLE — A federal judge has blocked Washington state's cyberstalking law, saying it clearly prohibits speech that is protected by the First Amendment.
U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton in Tacoma issued a preliminary injunction Friday. Leighton said Washington's 2004 law appears to violate the Constitution because it bans not just threats, but "a large range of non-obscene, non-threatening speech."
The judge said the law is so broad that it can be interpreted to bar even "public criticisms of public figures."
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Bainbridge Island resident Richard L. Rynearson III sued in 2017. Rynearson said he had been threatened with prosecution by Kitsap County for writing critical posts online — posts that appeared to violate the cyberstalking law because they were designed to embarrass another person.