Three Georgia residents say Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens has silenced their critical voices on Facebook following a viral incident in which he called in deputies to a Burger King over a mistaken order. The lawsuit alleges that it violates the right to free speech.
The legal filing in U.S. District Court names David Cavender, a Republican who ran unsuccessfully against Owens for the sheriff's office this election season, as one of the plaintiffs.
“Defendant Craig Owens was displeased that certain individuals, including Plaintiffs, were publicly criticizing his performance as Sheriff of Cobb County, Georgia,” the complaint states. It is said that “Instead of standing up for the First Amendment and tolerating speech he personally found offensive, Owens chose to use the power of his office to censor plaintiffs' speech based on their position. ”
One lawyer said in October, in the weeks leading up to Election Day, a video was released showing Owens using Cobb County sheriff's deputies to mediate a personal dispute with a Burger King employee, and the plaintiffs They wrote, “He was showing a harsh attitude.'' Criticism of Owens” and other issues.
Georgia sheriff angry after wrong Burger King order asks police for help
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In the March 2023 incident, three deputies were dispatched to a fast food restaurant in Mableton with sirens blaring.
“Hey, please. All I need to get is the owner's name or the manager of the owner of this damn facility,” Owens is heard telling one of the deputies who showed up at the scene.
“I wanted her [to get his female passenger] Whopper, it's not mayonnaise, it's cut in half, right? ” he continued.
The sheriff added: “We don't have to give the money back anymore. We just need to find out who owns this place so we can file formal charges.”
On Oct. 29, Owens placed “drastic restrictions” on who could post comments on the Cobb County Sheriff's Office Facebook page, according to the complaint.
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On March 4, 2023, Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens called deputies to the Burger King on Veterans Memorial Highway in Mableton. (Cobb County Sheriff's Office)
“With respect to information and belief, these restrictions were put in place because the commenter's posted viewpoint became increasingly critical of Owens and his performance as the Sheriff. In other words, Owens The restrictions were put in place to prevent expression.” The complaint added that some of the plaintiffs' posts were deleted or hidden by the sheriff's office Facebook account.
The sheriff's office later wrote on Nov. 1 that it was “committed to providing a safe and respectful space on our social media channels.”
“In order to continue to focus our posts on community safety updates and educational information, we have turned off commenting,” it added.
The lawsuit asks the judge to “declare that Defendant Owens' conduct constitutes a viewpoint-based restriction that violates the First Amendment,” prohibits Owens' “unlawful acts of retaliatory censorship,” and “restricts the comments.” It seeks to prohibit its deletion. This included blocking the poster, and limiting commenters to friends and people referenced in the post.
The lawsuit against Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens alleges that the plaintiffs posted critical comments online about the sheriff following an incident involving him at a Burger King in Georgia last year. (Getty Images)
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The law firm that filed the lawsuit with the Cobb County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on Thursday.
FOX News' Landon Mion contributed to this report.
