NYC Mayoral Candidate Sues Elon Musk’s X Over Suspended Account: Preventing ‘Campaign From Communicating With Voters’

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Jim Walden, a former assistant U.S. attorney who is running for mayor of New York City, announced on Wednesday that he is suing Elon Musk’s X Corp.

In a statement first reported on by PoliticoNY’s Jeff Coltin, Walden alleged the social media platform has engaged in “deceptive trade practices, in violation of New York law.” “Twitter has only gotten more complicated for political candidates. Jim Walden sues X for shadowbanning him, the day after he tried baiting Elon Musk for some engagement,” reported Coltin of the lawsuit in a post on X.

“The suit seeks injunctive relief to restore Walden’s account, after X “permanently suspended” it for pretextual reasons-in the midst of Walden’s surging campaign for Mayor of New York City. X has neither restored Walden’s account nor even responded to his demands to have it reactivated. X’s actions are preventing the Walden campaign from communicating with voters ahead of the NYC Mayoral election,” read the statement.

Walden announced his bid in late November to replace Mayor Eric Adams (D) and is currently seeking to be put on the ballot as an Independent. His campaign has hired former Democratic Gov. David Paterson, a former Adams ally, as a consultant and has received substantial local news coverage as a serious contender.

Walden’s statement further lays out his claims against X, writing, “Beginning on Friday, 12/27/2024, X suspended Walden’s personal account (@Jim Walden_Esq), and for the past two weeks, has not responded to numerous attempts by Jim and his campaign to appeal the suspension, or communicate with X’s support staff.” The statement added:

Walden’s account has been unfairly suspended, as he has not broken any of X’s rules or terms of service. Since Elon Musk took over X in September 2024, the number of account suspensions has tripled, with users complaining of the same abusive behaviors, which include “shadow bans” by X against disfavored accounts to limit those users’ visibility and engagement.

This is not the first time that Jim Walden has sued X, formerly known as Twitter. In 2023, Walden represented a Saudi aid worker who was identified, captured, and tortured after Twitter divulged his identity to Saudi officials. This suit alleged that Twitter “abetted acts of murder, kidnapping, and torture” by improperly turning over users’ personal information to the regime.

Read the full statement here.