The state of Arkansas is $16,000 poorer today after State Senator Jason Rapert agreed to a settlement in his legal battle to avoid online criticism from atheists. After the state pays the atheists’ court costs, Rapert will have to unblock certain atheist constituents on Twitter and provide “written documentation showing possible wrongdoing” if he wants to block them in the future.

Rapert is being treated like a child after a temper tantrum because that’s his level of maturity as an elected official.

If you need a refresher, this saga began in 2018, when American Atheists filed a lawsuit against Rapert, a lawmaker best known for erecting an unconstitutional Ten Commandments monument outside the State Capitol. They claimed Rapert had blocked four constituents on Facebook and Twitter because they were atheists and because they were critical of his policy positions. Whatever the reason, that would be illegal. Lawmakers are obligated to keep lines of communication open for their well-intentioned constituents, even ones who are critical of them.

It may seem silly to go to the courts over a social media kerfuffle, but the truth is if Rapert blocked residents from his official social media presence, they would be unable to see what he’s doing on their behalf. (In 2018, a federal judge ruled that Donald Trump also couldn’t block people on Twitter for those reasons.) ...