5th Circuit Grants DOJ Temporary Stay of Social Media Injunction vs. Biden Administration Officials

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted DOJ a temporary administrative stay of the preliminary injunction imposed July 4 by U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty for Western Louisiana in Monroe to prevent dozens of Biden administration officials from conversing with social media platforms for the purposes of content moderation, said the court’s Friday afternoon order (docket 23-30445).

The 5th Circuit ordered DOJ’s appeal expedited to the next available oral argument calendar. DOJ’s opposed motion to stay Doughty’s injunction pending appeal is deferred to the oral argument merits panel that receives the case, said the order.

Doughty earlier in the week denied DOJ’s motion to stay the injunction pending the 5th Circuit appeal. DOJ argued the government would be irreparably harmed absent a stay, but Doughty, a President Donald Trump appointee, ruled the plaintiffs’ First Amendment free speech rights “by far” outweigh the defendants’ interests. The lead plaintiffs are the Republican attorneys general of Louisiana and Missouri, who didn’t immediately comment on the 5th Circuit’s temporary stay.