Former new jersey mayor loses court battle after banning residents from official facebook page

Former New Jersey Mayor Loses Court Battle After Banning Residents from Official Facebook Page

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1 min read
June 19, 2020

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, NJ – Former Hamilton Township Mayor Kelly Yaede lost her 2019 election to Democrats after she fell off the sanity wagon and this week, she lost her legal battle to keep citizens off of her official “Mayor Kelly Yaede” Facebook page.  After her election loss, the page was removed, but Yaede was sued by residents Lilas Borsa, Mark Van Wagner and Terry Peifer to put the page back up, claiming it is an official township record.

Under the court order, Yaede must reinstate her former official public page under the following conditions.  The page shall be named “Mayor Kelly Yaede” and the posting of new comments and postings will be disabled.  The page will include a disclaimer that reads, “This page is for viewing only. No comments may be added to the page. Therefore, no one shall be individually blocked or banned.”

Yaede had the three plaintiffs blocked from her Facebook page after they posted messages critical of Yaede on Facebook.  The decision was made by Judge Tonianne Bongiovanni on June 16th.  Yaede has 10 business days to comply with the order.  Additionally, Hamilton Township shall pay the plaintiff’s legal fees of $40,000.

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