Citizen Journalist Loses Appeal in Wrongful Arrest Lawsuit

Priscilla Villarreal, known as La Gordiloca, plans to take her case to the U.S. Supreme Court after a divided federal appeals court upheld legal immunity for the officials she sued.

Texas-based citizen journalist Priscilla Villarreal, known online as La Gordiloca, lost her appeal in a wrongful arrest lawsuit. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled 9-7 that the police officers and officials Villarreal sued were entitled to legal immunity.
Villarreal was arrested in 2017 under a Texas law for misuse of official information after she published the identities of a suicide victim and a family involved in a car accident on her Facebook page. The information was obtained through a backchannel source in the police department.
A state judge had previously dismissed the criminal case against Villarreal, finding the law used for her arrest unconstitutional. Despite this, Villarreal sought to sue officials for damages.
The decision by the 5th Circuit has drawn criticism from free speech advocates and national media organizations. The court's ruling has been seen as an endorsement of an expansive view of government power that permits police to arrest reporters for seeking basic information through backchannels.
Villarreal and her attorney have expressed their disappointment with the decision and plan to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.