No matter who is in power, the Constitution protects our right to publicly joke, mock, insult, and dissent. But the federal government has barred our client from attending official events that are open to the public because the vice president can't take a joke.
After Vice President Vance announced an official event scheduled for August 24 in Brewer, Maine, we immediately went back to court. This time, we asked for a preliminary injunction requiring the government to allow Amanda McGonigle to attend the event, just like any other member of the public.
In May of this year, McGonigle registered to attend an official vice-presidential event in Bangor, but she was prevented from entering. While in line, armed Secret Service agents and other government officials called her out by name and told her she wasn’t allowed, saying it was because “we know where you stand.”
McGonigle sued in July, and is now asking the federal court to ensure that she can attend future events, like the upcoming event in Brewer, without interference, so she can listen to the vice president’s remarks, express her views as an audience member, and report on the event for her millions of social media followers.
The case filed in July challenges the government’s retaliation and viewpoint-based discrimination against McGonigle. She was excluded from events in Bangor and Des Moines because of her social media accounts, which are dedicated to criticizing the vice president. She launched her @CatsOnACouch accounts after Vice President Vance’s infamous “childless cat lady” comment in 2024, and says the purpose of the account is “to have more followers than JD Vance by the time he leaves office and to troll him mercilessly every single day.”
The government is on notice that our client knows her First Amendment rights and will fight in court to enforce them. Using humor and satire to criticize elected officials has been a long-standing tradition since our nation's founding. It's a testament to the power of speech and the power of laughter that one of the most powerful government officials is attempting to silence someone over a cat-themed social media account.
Read the latest court filings in the PDFs at the bottom of this page. See more about the case here.
