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X, the social media platform owned by American billionaire Elon Musk, paid the legal fees of Miguel Sanchez, a Providence city councilman who won a federal free speech case last week over his firing from Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee's office.
Gene Schaerr, Sanchez's lawyer, confirmed that X paid for the representation through a program Musk set up to defend the free speech rights of people who post on the platform. Schaerr said Musk did not pay the bills personally.
Musk announced the program in August 2023, saying on X: "If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill." He added: "No limit."
The ruling
Sanchez, 28, worked as a $50,000-a-year staffer in McKee's constituent services office, answering calls from the public. He was fired on Nov. 1, 2023, after he posted on social media in support of Palestinians following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and shared video of a pro-Palestinian march in Providence calling for a ceasefire. Senior aides told him to take the post down. When he refused, they gave him the choice of resigning or being fired.
He sued McKee and two of the governor's top aides, chief of staff Antonio Afonso and senior deputy chief of staff Joseph Almond, in August 2024, arguing the firing violated his rights under the First and 14th Amendments.
On Oct. 28, John J. McConnell Jr., chief judge of the U.S. District Court for Rhode Island, ruled in Sanchez's favor on his First Amendment claim. McConnell found that Sanchez spoke as a private citizen, that his account identified him only as a city councilor, and that he held no policymaking or spokesperson role.
"Speech on public issues occupies the greatest of First Amendment protection," McConnell wrote. The judge said the governor's office received one media inquiry, three emails and two phone messages about the posts, while at least 17 reporters and more than 100 members of the public contacted it about the firing.
McConnell rejected the aides' claim of qualified immunity, a legal shield for government officials. He ruled against Sanchez on a separate claim about a job he had sought at the state Department of Labor and Training. Damages and Sanchez's request to get his job back will be decided at a later trial.
Schaerr said Sanchez is grateful for the court's decisions and looks forward to the trial on damages. McKee's office said it disagrees with the ruling and is reviewing its options with legal counsel.
Musk's legal fund
Schaerr's firm, Schaerr Jaffe LLP, a litigation boutique in Washington and San Francisco, has handled other cases backed by X, including actress Gina Carano's lawsuit against Walt Disney Co. over her firing from "The Mandalorian."
Sanchez, a Democratic socialist, won his party's primary for reelection to the Providence City Council this year. McKee, also a Democrat, lost the Democratic primary for governor to Helena Foulkes, and his term ends in January.
X is part of SpaceX, which absorbed Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI, X's parent, in February. Musk is the world's richest person, with a fortune of about $869 billion, according to Forbes.
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