If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Washington (State) Secretary of State Katie Hobbs is facing a formal legal challenge in the form of a complaint filed by local Republicans‚ alleging the use of public funds to launch spying and censorship against political opponents (but mostly‚ it would seem‚ those opposed to Hobbs herself.) We obtained a copy of the complaint for you here. The election period surveillance‚ introduced through what is known as a sole source contract‚ was awarded for at least $147‚600 and the company was able to put its tools in motion even before the contract was approved. The Washington State Republican Party (WSRP) on Thursday announced that it‚ in cooperation with a Long Law office attorney‚ had submitted its complaint to the Washington State Ethics Board. Hobbs is accused of spending public money to bankroll the AI company whose “specialty” is voter surveillance via methods like “fact-checking” and subsequent suppression of information unfavorable to the state secretary and her political camp. The company‚ called Logically‚ is registered offshore. The complaint makes a note of the fact that as secretary of state‚ regardless of political affiliation‚ Hobbs has a duty to act in an unbiased and fair manner when it comes to elections. The state Republicans‚ however‚ allege that she violated these (state and federal) constitutional requirements and her oath of office. Related: AZ Governor Katie Hobbs Asked Twitter To Censor Her Critics‚ Emails Show One of the provisions that Hobbs is accused of ignoring is the obligation stemming from the US Constitution‚ specifically its First Amendment‚ about the government (i.e.‚ its officials at various levels) not being allowed to take any action that “abridges freedom of speech.” Proper discharge of office and electioneering at public expense are some of the other unlawful behaviors that the Washington Republicans want her investigated for. What Hobbs was doing was through a creation of her own‚ known as Information Security &; Response Division; the AI company’s task was surveillance of citizens/opponents of Hobbs’ policy who were expressing themselves on the internet. According to the complaint‚ terms as “threats to electoral integrity and (those) targeting the (Washington State) secretary of state or staff” were used as justification for “monitoring voter communications in order to alert Secretary Hobbs of critical or unwelcome ‘narratives’‚ providing bi-weekly analysis and producing reports of citizen comments‚ trends‚ and statistics.” These bi-weeklies were available to Hobbs‚ and “outside stakeholders.” Logically was scouring X‚ Rumble‚ Truth Social‚ Substack‚ etc‚ but it was on Facebook where it “conspired to label citizen comments as false‚ apply warning labels‚ and suppress distribution of the unwelcome speech” which let Hobbs “suppress and abridge free speech on a massive scale.” “This is nothing but state-funded electioneering with no public benefit and an Orwellian Totalitarian State promoting the views of the Democrat party and censoring their rivals. WA SoS (secretary of state) actions are part of the destruction of civil society and have absolutely no consideration for the people or the Constitution‚” reads the complaint. The post Washington State GOP Submits Official Ethics Complaint Against Secretary of State Katie Hobbs for Alleged Misuse of Public Money in Monitoring and Suppressing Criticism appeared first on Reclaim The Net.