A central California county agreed to settle a lawsuit over a satirical social media account that found itself at the center of a First Amendment debate over the rights to and limits of anonymous political speech.

The controversy stemmed from a Facebook page called “Benito Beet Beat,” which was created in June and says it provides a “fresh, satirical slice of local politics and news” from San Benito County.

But the county’s board of supervisors hadn't taken kindly to the page and voted in November to approve a subpoena to Meta for records to reveal the creators’ identities, court records show.

The First Amendment Coalition, a free speech advocacy group, sued to protect those behind the account and get the subpoena dismissed. The coalition filed the Nov. 26 complaint in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

It said the subpoena followed a since-deleted political cartoon the account posted in early November that referenced potential security cuts at the county’s behavioral health clinic.

“The Cartoon depicted an imaginary situation in which a staff member said, ‘We’re in danger! Call security now!’ because a person in mental distress seeking help at the clinic said, ‘Voices are telling me I need to hurt a supervisor or his kids!’ while another staff member thought, ‘We cut security because (Supervisor Ignacio) Velazquez told us to do it,’” the complaint said.

The board approved the subpoena weeks later based on its belief that the cartoon’s “depiction is clearly a threat and appears to call upon others to inflict physical harm,” the complaint said.

Court records filed on Dec. 5 said the parties had reached a settlement over the matter.

The subpoena was withdrawn, and San Benito County was barred from reissuing it or “taking any other action seeking to identify the authors or publishers of Benito Beet Beat due to publication of the cartoon at issue in this case.”

The judge, U.S. Magistrate Judge Virginia K. DeMarchi, ordered the case to be dismissed.

Judge previously said creators were likely to win First Amendment claims

The First Amendment Coalition previously argued that the post – like the rest of the page’s content – is political satire, which has some of the greatest First Amendment protection.

“If Plaintiffs’ identities are disclosed to the County, they will suffer irreparable harm arising from violation of their First Amendment right to anonymous speech,” the complaint said. “Once lost, anonymity cannot be regained.”

The organization also said the investigation “inherently chills their First Amendment rights.” It went on to claim that the subpoena “exceeds the Board’s authority under California law" and therefore violates the Stored Communications Act, a federal privacy law that restricts the government's ability to compel third-party providers to provide users' digital communications.

The subpoena ordered Meta to produce records by Dec. 2, though DeMarchi granted a temporary pause on Nov. 26.

In granting the pause, she wrote that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in arguing that the speech in question is protected under the First Amendment.

"While the Cartoon is hyperbolic and provocative, plaintiffs are likely to succeed in showing that it cannot reasonably be construed as a 'true threat' of violence against any individual or the Board collectively, or as an incitement of others to commit violence," DeMarchi wrote.

USA TODAY reached out to the board of supervisors and Meta for comment.

BrieAnna Frank is a First Amendment reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at bjfrank@usatoday.com.

USA TODAY's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.

This story was updated to reflect the outcome of the case.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: County settles in case over anonymous politics page on Facebook

Reporting by BrieAnna J. Frank, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect