A federal judge has ruled that Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay violated a military veteran’s First Amendment rights when it banned him from its Facebook account after he posted statements about the base’s response to a 12-hour power outage.
Sergio Rodriguez, a U.S. Army veteran and a military family advocate, offered practical advice over Facebook for U.S. Navy families who were suffering from a lack of electricity in the wake of Tropical Storm Debby that hit Coastal Georgia in 2024, according to the lawsuit. Base officers approved the deletion of his posts and banned him from the official Facebook page.
The case he brought in federal court in Virginia’s Eastern District-Norfolk Division shows the enduring strength of First Amendment protections amid a shifting political climate, and the struggle that military families have to advocate for better housing and living conditions.
“Don’t ever let anybody take away your voice. Don’t ever sit there and just fade away into the dark if somebody tries to tell you to be quiet,” said Rodriquez, 46, and a former Naval Spouse of the Year. “Especially when it’s a government entity, because you have a right, you have freedom of speech, you have a Constitutional protection. And you should not sit there and let anybody infringe on that.”
Kings Bay did not respond to requests for comment, saying the public information officer was out of the office.
Rodriguez, who retired from the Army in 2006 because of a disability, began advocating for active-duty members and veterans by helping them navigate military bureaucracy, especially housing regulations.
That work made him a social media influencer, especially on Facebook, where he has over 2,000 followers. So when Kings Bay experienced a power outage in August 2024, Rodriguez was one of the first people that service members reached out to.
“The temperatures out here are not comfortable when it’s summertime, and you don’t have an AC running. And I had a spouse reach out who was in her car with her newborn because she couldn’t sit in the house. So it was just like I wanted to get answers at that point. What are we doing to help these people?” he said.
The lawsuit said that Rodriguez communicated with base officials over its Facebook page to ensure family concerns were getting heard, but also advocating for information from base leaders.
The messages and questions posted to the base Facebook page were part of his long-term advocacy, he said.
“I would also attend the town halls for the housing residents. Sometimes I was the only one there, and I came with a list of some of the concerns from residents who were afraid to go, and I would be told, ‘Why are you here?,” he said.
Rodriguez’ interactions were persistent but polite, according to the lawsuit. He asked basic questions about potential relocation plans for families living in base housing and how they could get information about such plans, and how they could be reimbursed for goods lost during the power outage.
“Will you share the proper route for residents to take for reimbursement for their perishables? Power has been out for several hours, compensation needs to happen,” he wrote in one post.
About an hour later, the administrator of the page posted a response, tagging Rodriguez: “Anyone who thinks they have a claim should respond to the Navy Legal Service Office at [phone number],” the lawsuit said.
But soon, he was blocked, and his posts were deleted, according to the lawsuit. He found out from the wife of Capt. Christopher Bohner, the officer who directed his subordinate to ban Rodriguez.
Rodriguez said that he had not experienced such a response during his six years of advocacy.
“Kings Bay has been the only base that has ever given me pushback,” he said.
The ruling prohibits Kings Bay from any viewpoint-based censorship and resulted in a public policy statement on all base social media pages with this statement.
“Posts and comments by members of the general public will not be removed, filtered, hidden, unpublished, blocked, or deleted based on the viewpoint expressed. Additionally, users, who are members of the general public, will not be banned or blocked based on the viewpoint expressed.”
Michelle Scott, a lawyer with The Center for Individual Rights who represented Rodriguez said that the ruling should strengthen First Amendment protections for more military members and their families.
“I think one of the things that’s unique about our settlement is that the defendants in our settlement actually agreed that blocking Sergio from the base’s Facebook page violated his First Amendment rights, and that’s very unusual for the government to admit something like that,” she said.
