Buenos Aires Herald 
Federal Judge Alberto Recondo ruled that President Javier Milei will not have to delete an aggressive post he made on X targeting a 12-year-old boy with autism. The judge’s decision, made in response to a lawsuit filed by the child’s family, said that Milei’s statement was “a personal opinion” he made “as a citizen” and not as president.
Attorney Andrés Gil Domínguez, who represents the family, said he will appeal the ruling issued on Monday. The child, Ian Moche, is an autism awareness activist who posts frequently on social media and makes media appearances or meets politicians along with his mother.
Recondo had initially ruled that he as a federal judge was competent to oversee the lawsuit after establishing that Milei posted from his account, which has a verified gray checkmark reserved for members of a national government. The unprecedented decision meant that the judge understood Milei’s posts were presidential, not personal, in nature.
However, the judge has now backtracked. In his final ruling, he wrote that Milei’s X account under the handle @jmilei “is not an official or institutional account of the Nation’s Presidency or the National Executive Power.”
The ruling is in line with Milei’s public stance on the matter. Last week, he filed a document refusing to take down the post on the grounds that he is “protected by freedom of speech” and that it was a “personal opinion.”
Recondo said that the official government accounts are those under the user names Oficina del Presidente de la Nación (Office of the Nation’s President) and Casa Rosada. He added that the communications secretariat has said it has no control over the account @jmilei.
“This way, the public official’s personal accounts can be distinguished from official or institutional public accounts,” Recondo said. In the context of the lawsuit, this means that whatever Milei posts on his account does not carry the responsibility of his role as head of state, despite having a gray checkmark.
According to Recondo, Milei “is always the president,” as long as his mandate lasts, “but not all of his actions pose obligations at an institutional level,” and can use social media for personal means.
Moreover, the judge said that the post itself did not target the child, but rather aimed to only criticize journalist Paulino Rodrígues, who is mentioned in the post.
On June 1, Milei reposted an X post by the libertarian troll account @hombregrisxd accusing Rodrigues of interviewing Moche solely for political purposes. Milei wrote in his repost that Rodrigues was “always on the evil side,” repeating allegations of a political setup and accusing him of siding with Kirchnerism. The original post was accompanied by images of Moche speaking with Rodrigues and several politicians.