SEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge has blocked Washington state’s cyberstalking law, saying it clearly prohibits speech that is protected by the First Amendment.

U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton said Friday Washington’s 2004 law appears to violate the Constitution because it bans not just threats, but “a large range of non-obscene, non-threatening speech.”

The judge said the law is so broad that it can be interpreted to bar even “public criticisms of public figures.”

Bainbridge Island resident Richard Rynearson sued in 2017.

Rynearson said he had been threatened with prosecution by Kitsap County for writing critical posts online — posts that appeared to violate the cyberstalking law because they were designed to embarrass another person.