To:
Dawn Wynn, City Attorney
City of Riviera Beach
1481 W. 15th Street
Riviera Beach, FL 33404
Email: cityattorney@rivierabeach.org

Re: First Amendment Concerns Regarding Councilwoman Shirley Lanier’s Censorship on Official Facebook Page

Dear Ms. Wynn,

I am writing on behalf of Corruption Interruption Inc. to formally raise a concern regarding actions taken by Councilwoman Shirley Lanier on her official government Facebook page.

On August 29, 2025, Councilwoman Lanier published a recognition message regarding a school superintendent. On September 3, 2025, our organization submitted a comment on that post to address inaccuracies in the information presented. Shortly thereafter, our comment was deleted, and our organization’s account was blocked from further access to Councilwoman Lanier’s official page.

Councilwoman Lanier uses this Facebook page in her capacity as a public official to communicate with constituents and conduct city business. As such, the page constitutes a public forum under established First Amendment precedent. Courts have made clear that elected officials may not engage in viewpoint discrimination by removing comments or blocking users based solely on critical expression. See Davison v. Randall, 912 F.3d 666 (4th Cir. 2019), and Knight First Amendment Institute v. Trump, 928 F.3d 226 (2d Cir. 2019).

Councilwoman Lanier’s removal of our comment and subsequent blocking of our account appear to constitute unconstitutional censorship. This restricts our ability to engage in civic discourse, participate in government accountability, and petition our elected representatives.

We respectfully request the following:

1. That Corruption Interruption Inc.’s account be unblocked immediately and our access to Councilwoman Lanier’s official page be restored.

2. That the City provide a written explanation of its policies governing elected officials’ use of social media for official business, including any training or guidelines provided to Council members regarding compliance with the First Amendment.

3. That the City ensures full preservation of the list of blocked users from Councilwoman Lanier’s official Facebook page. We have already submitted a public records request for this information pursuant to Chapter 119, Florida Statutes.

4. That the City acknowledge this incident publicly and reaffirm its commitment to respecting the First Amendment rights of all constituents engaging on official government platforms.

We trust that the City of Riviera Beach will recognize the seriousness of this matter and take appropriate corrective action. Please confirm receipt of this letter and advise us of the City’s intended response.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this issue.

Respectfully,
Corruption Interruption Inc.