Knight First Amendment Institute staff attorney Jake Karr said Anderson’s new policy brings up constitutional questions, though whether the policy is actually unconstitutional or not is complicated.
After advocacy by IASCO Flight Training Operations Manager Miranda Vorhis, the Anderson city council adopted a social media policy Tuesday night. But she said there’s already been measurable harm inflicted upon the school.
The discussion comes after council member Darin Hale made numerous claims on his personal Facebook account attempting to link a local flight school to Chinese espionage. The school has called the claims unfounded and said they undermine community safety.
Gallagher, who’s in his second term on the Anderson City Council, joins former Supervisor Tim Garman and current Supervisor Chris Kelstrom in a race for the seat. The three will face off during the primary in June.
Anderson Councilmember Darin Hale has made claims on social media that IASCO Flight Training is a security risk to America due to its training of Chinese students. The school said such unfounded claims, made amid national tension over immigration enforcement, put its students at risk.
At this week’s meeting, Council member Darin Hale suggested disbanding the city’s planning commission. Plus, Anderson stands united against a partisan bill intended to provide temporary guardianship for children in the event that they are separated from their parents through deportation, and imposed new penalties for people who feed stray cats, even on private land.
