In response to court order, Illinois Rep. Charlie Meier allows comments on Facebook
UPDATE 10-17-25: This article has been updated to clarify which of Meier’s Facebook pages was the subject of the judge’s order.
Illinois State Rep. Charlie Meier, R-Okawville, violated an agreement requiring him to allow a New Baden man who had been “critical” of Meier to post comments on one of his Facebook pages, according to a Madison County judge’s order.
Associate Judge Ronald Foster ruled that Meier was in “indirect civil contempt of court” when he blocked all comments made to his Facebook page titled “Charlie Meier for State Representative” in July. After Foster issued his order on Oct. 10, commenting was restored to the Facebook page.
Meier also has a Facebook page titled “State Representative Charlie Meier” but Foster’s order didn’t apply to that page and commenting remained blocked on that page on Friday.
Jared Poettker of New Baden filed a lawsuit in 2024 against Meier, alleging that his First Amendment rights to freedom of speech were violated when he was blocked from commenting on the “Charlie Meier for State Representative” Facebook page. The lawsuit didn’t include specific comments that were critical of Meier, but Poettker’s attorney has previously said in an interview that one of the issues involved campaign donations Meier received from the Illinois Education Association, which is a union for teachers.
The lawsuit was settled in February and a hearing was held in August after all commenting was blocked on the page in July.
Meier declined to comment on Foster’s order. Meier’s attorney, John L. Gilbert of Edwardsville, referred questions about the case back to the state representative.
Poettker was represented by Bond County attorney Tom DeVore, who declined to comment because his law license was suspended for 60 days by the Illinois Supreme Court. DeVore, who previously ran as a Republican for Illinois attorney general and has filed lawsuits against Gov. JB Pritzker over executive orders issued regarding the COVID pandemic, began serving his suspension on Oct. 10.
The suspension was based on an Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission report that said there was “clear and convincing evidence” that DeVore “began a sexual relationship” with a woman after their attorney-client relationship began, “which also constituted a conflict of interest.”
Court hearing on Facebook comments
Foster’s order states that during a hearing on Aug. 29, Meier testified he disabled all commenting to his Facebook page due to “lies” being posted.
Meier reported the decision to shut down all Facebook comments “was made on the advice of lawyers on staff with the House Republican Organization” who advised him that elected officials can legally block all posts and thus not be ‘willful,’” according to Foster’s order.
But Foster countered that “the Court finds that Meier’s conduct of disabling comments only months after being ordered to restore access to … Poettker was a deliberate act taken in response to speech he disapproved of.”
Foster’s ruling makes the following points:
- Meier can “purge” the contempt finding by restoring Poettker’s access to Meier’s Facebook page within five business days after the court order was filed. “Failure to do so will result in a $100 per day sanction until restoration is complete.” As of Friday, the page titled “Charlie Meier for State Representative” had commenting restored.
- Poettker may submit a petition for attorney’s fees.
- “Under the First Amendment, government regulation of speech in public forums is subject to strict scrutiny if the regulation is content-based, and viewpoint discrimination is categorically prohibited,” Foster wrote in his nine-page order.
This story was originally published October 17, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
