The Justice Department, or DOJ, is intensifying efforts to identify anonymous social media users who have criticized immigration enforcement policies.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Washington is issuing grand jury subpoenas to Reddit and X demanding names, addresses, and banking information, according to reports by Bloomberg. The subpoenas target at least two anonymous posters who criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, operations.
“They started with an administrative summons, which does not indicate a criminal investigation, and then progressed to the grand jury subpoena, which does,” said Lauren Regan, an attorney representing a Reddit user who posted criticism of ICE.
“[That] is further proof that this is a bad faith attempt to unmask the user.”
Defense attorneys report their clients face criminal investigations with unspecified charges, possibly related to revealing federal officer location data or perceived threats.
The posts in question are relatively innocuous, containing no indication of violent intent.
Civil liberties advocates warn the tactic threatens anonymous speech protections, citing The Federalist Papers as precedent.
Motions to quash the subpoenas are pending before U.S. District Chief Judge James Boasberg, with significant implications for online speech protections.
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