‘CatsOnACouch’ Instagram creator sues after being barred from JD Vance event

Amanda McGonigle, who runs the Instagram account @catsonacouch, was waiting to attend a vice presidential event in Bangor, Maine, when five armed Secret Service agents approached her in line. She was denied entrance to the venue by authorities who told her, “we know where you stand,” she said.

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That’s according to a lawsuit McGonigle Tuesday against the Office of the President and the Secret Service. She alleges the Trump administration violated her First Amendment rights by prohibiting her from attending events where Vice President JD Vance was speaking, due to her online criticism of the administration.

McGonigle, 37, is the self-described Vance troll behind the @catsonacouch account. The “petty cat account” has almost 2 million followers and “exists purr-ly to troll the current administration & have more followers than J.D. Vance,” according to its Instagram.

The creator launched the account in 2024, after Vance derided Kamala Harris and other Democrats as “childless cat ladies” in 2021. In his new memoir, Vance called the statement “one of the dumbest things I ever said.“

McGonigle’s account has trolled Vance with a variety of gimmicks, from sharing memes about him getting intimate with a couch, to printing out mock “Wanted” posters depicting him as a suspect in the death of Pope Francis. She also uses the account to engage in mutual aid efforts with her followers, which she calls her “petty besties.”

“It’s absurd that the Secret Service is wasting their time tracking a satirical cat account on social media,” McGonigle said in a Tuesday statement released by the ACLU, who represents her.

On May 14, McGonigle registered to attend an event in Bangor, Maine, where Vance was set to speak on the Trump administration’s efforts to combat healthcare fraud. The vice president was accompanied by acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling.

According to her lawsuit, McGonigle complied with all advance guidance for guests provided by the Executive Office of the President before attending the event. She received confirmation directly from Vance’s office and event materials carrying the White House seal, but at the event was told by Secret Service that it was private, she said.

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“Every single sign pointed to this being a public event,” McGonigle said in a May Instagram post. “Either it was a public event as advertised, and I was denied entry because I think J.D. Vance is a sentient jar of mayonnaise, or it was a private event and taxpayer dollars were being used to fund J.D. Vance’s little ‘safe space.’ Either way, it’s giving lawsuit vibes.”

This isn’t the first time McGonigle has been turned away from a vice-presidential event, according to her lawsuit filed Tuesday. She was stopped from attending a Vance event in Iowa after registering but never receiving confirmation that she could attend, she alleges.

McGonigle’s suit notes she will try to attend more of Vance’s public events in the coming weeks and “express her views as an audience member, including by cheering, booing, and wearing clothing with political messages.” At the event in Maine, McGonigle said she wore a shirt saying, “J.D. Vance cured my imposter syndrome.”

Her lawsuit argues there’s “a credible threat that Ms. McGonigle will be excluded from such events” and could face criminal charges without court intervention. The content creator is asking the court to bar the Trump administration from blocking her from any future events.

“The First Amendment cannot be revoked just because one of the country’s most powerful people can’t take a joke,” said ACLU of Maine staff attorney Anahita Sotoohi.

The White House and the Secret Service did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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