{"id":610,"date":"2026-05-28T14:36:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T14:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=610"},"modified":"2026-05-28T14:36:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T14:36:44","slug":"very-chilling-experts-warn-trump-doj-ramping-up-attacks-on-1st-amendment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=610","title":{"rendered":"‘Very chilling’: Experts warn Trump DOJ ramping up attacks on 1st Amendment"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

According to new reporting from Bloomberg<\/u>, the Department of Justice is suing social media companies to obtain the names, addresses and banking information of users on Reddit and X as part of a push to identify critics of President Donald Trump\u2019s mass deportation program. The subpoenas were filed by the US Attorney\u2019s Office for Washington, which is helmed by Trump-ally Jeanine Pirro. So far the DOJ\u2019s criminal investigation involves at least two anonymous social media posters who have criticized the administration\u2019s actions. <\/p>\n

Read more White House staffers failing to keep Trump\u2019s messaging on track: GOP insiders<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe anonymous users, who learned of the subpoenas from the platforms and hired lawyers to challenge the government\u2019s demands for information, haven\u2019t been told what possible offenses are being probed,\u201d reported Bloomberg. \u201cTheir lawyers believe the investigations could relate to allegations of revealing a federal officer\u2019s location data or other types of perceived threats, but dispute that their clients committed crimes. Even if no charges ultimately are filed, the attorneys contended in interviews that rooting out identities of dissenters is at the very least an intimidation tactic.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Bloomberg, the move represents a notable escalation in the administration\u2019s effort to weaponize law enforcement against its critics. Previously, Trump\u2019s DOJ has attempted to leverage administrative summonses, a lower legal threshold that doesn\u2019t require judicial processes. But after legal challenges stymied the strategy, the administration has \u201craised the stakes\u201d by seeking grand jury subpoenas. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey started with an administrative summons, which does not indicate a criminal investigation, and then progressed to the grand jury subpoena, which does,\u201d said Lauren Regan, an attorney representing a targeted social media user. This attempt, she added, \u201cis further proof that this is a bad faith attempt to unmask the user.\u201d <\/p>\n

As Bloomberg explains, \u201cRegan, a co-leader of the Civil Liberties Defense Center, said some of her client\u2019s posts were as simple as \u2018expletive ICE.\u2019 The subpoena doesn’t specify the post or posts that caught the government\u2019s attention, but Regan said she suspects it was one that appeared to reference the ICE officer who shot Minnesota protester Renee Good and where the official had lived. It\u2019s not clear to her what laws the government is alleging were broken by the comments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Targeted social media companies have notified impacted users to provide the opportunity to fight the DOJ\u2019s requests, but their window to challenge the government is brief, as companies have been given a deadline for delivering data. <\/p>\n

Read more Trump already crashing into \u2018substantial roadblocks\u2019 in push to revive election lies<\/a><\/p>\n

While former federal prosecutor Bonnie Greenberg says it\u2019s easy for a prosecutor to serve a grand jury subpoena, \u201ccourt precedent has imposed a heavy burden on the defendant to quash\u201d it. She noted that only once in her 37 years in court has she seen an individual successfully halt such an effort. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe post does not contain a trace or an inkling that any violence was intended,\u201d said First Amendment lawyer Joshua Koltun, who represents a targeted user, noting that even if the DOJ\u2019s criminal prosecution fails, the damage to free speech has already been done. \u201cIt\u2019s a very chilling thing to get a subpoena to find out your identity, and to run the risk that some ICE agent is going to be knocking on your door.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to First Amendment Coalition Executive Director David Snyder, anonymous speech is foundational to U.S. politics. Snyder referenced the Federalist Papers written by several of the country\u2019s founding fathers, who used the anonymous pseudonym \u201cPublius.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey understood at a very visceral level that in order to speak your mind,\u201d explained Snyder, \u201csometimes you need to be able to do so anonymously so the government doesn\u2019t come after you.\u201d <\/p>\n

Read more US losing \u2018military dominance\u2019 in shocking new era of \u2018high-tech warfare\u2019: expert<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to new reporting from Bloomberg, the Department of Justice is suing social media companies to obtain the names, addresses and banking information of users on Reddit and X as part of a push to identify critics of President Donald Trump\u2019s mass deportation program. 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