Appeals court to decide if First Amendment should have protected Laredo’s “big crazy lady” from arrest (Texas Tribune)

Appeals court to decide if First Amendment should have protected Laredo’s “big crazy lady” from arrest – By Roxanna Asgarian (Texas Tribune) / Jan 6, 2023

Priscilla Villarreal was arrested over her Facebook postings. In a rare proceeding, the entire 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will weigh whether she can sue, a case that could have major ramifications for citizen journalists like her — and professional ones.

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It is unusual for all 16 judges of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to convene and hear a case. This month, they will do so to consider a lawsuit involving a foul-mouthed Latina firebrand known as La Gordiloca, an unlikely citizen journalist who has upended politics as usual in her border town of Laredo.

Her case pits the First Amendment against qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that shields public officials from being sued individually unless they’ve violated a “clearly established” constitutional right. Although it involves a freelance, untrained citizen journalist, the case has widespread implications for journalism in Texas and beyond. A similar case is already working its way up through the courts in Fort Bend County.

Priscilla Villarreal didn’t set out to piss off powerful people around Laredo. It started one day in 2015 when she heard sirens blaring outside her house. She went outside and saw a hostage situation unfolding; she began recording video on her phone as shots were fired and continued as the victims, two dead girls, were carried out of the house. She uploaded clips to Facebook; almost one million people saw them.

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