Ahead of Hearing, Anti-Trump Website Visitors Seek to Intervene in DreamHost Fight
Visitors to the website say execution of the government's search warrant would violate their First Amendment rights to read information on the internet anonymously.
August 21, 2017 at 05:58 PM
3 minute read
Five anonymous visitors to an anti-Trump website are taking action to ensure they aren't placed on a government “enemies list.”
The website visitors, represented by lawyers from the advocacy group Public Citizen, filed a motion to intervene Monday. Each of the five anonymous intervening plaintiffs visited the website, operated by a group called DistruptJ20, “either in connection with their own political activism in opposition to then newly-elected President Donald Trump, or in a journalistic capacity,” according to the motion. DreamHost is fighting the government's search warrant for all records related to the DistruptJ20 site, which organizers used to plan protests during Trump's inauguration in Washington, D.C.
Public Citizen lawyer Paul Levy said the group wanted to represent the rights of the individuals whose information would be handed over to the government if DreamHost is forced to comply with the warrant.
“It really actually fits into a long history of our defending internet users' rights to stay anonymous when they're online, so long as they're not doing anything that's actionable,” Levy said.
A D.C. Superior Court judge issued the warrant July 12, and DreamHost refused to comply, prompting the U.S. Attorney's Office to file a motion to compel the company to do so July 28. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday before Superior Court Chief Judge Robert Morin. Levy said it's unclear how Morin will proceed with the motion and if he will allow Public Citizen lawyers to participate, though they plan to attend.
DreamHost is represented by Raymond Aghaian of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton. The company recently launched a crowdfunding campaign to help pay for its legal costs.
Levy said that while DreamHost certainly pointed to violations of the users' rights in its own brief opposing the government's motion, Public Citizen is getting involved to directly represent those users' interests. The group argues the government must show a compelling reason to issue a warrant that raises First Amendment issues such as the right to read and receive information. Levy said he doubts the government gave the court a viable reason for demanding “all records” of the site when it sought the warrant.
“It's hard for me to believe that a showing was made that the people who did no more than view this website or send comments to this website were involved in planning any sort of criminal activity,” he said.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllWhy ACLU's New Legal Director Says It's a 'Good Time to Take the Reins'
8th Circuit Appeal Could Weaken Key Defense in Disability Bias Cases, Employment Lawyers Say
Michael Cohen Loses Bid for Supreme Court Review of Civil Rights Lawsuit
ACLU's Strangio Will Become First Openly Trans Attorney to Argue at Supreme Court
Trending Stories
- 1Judge Denies Sean Combs Third Bail Bid, Citing Community Safety
- 2Republican FTC Commissioner: 'The Time for Rulemaking by the Biden-Harris FTC Is Over'
- 3NY Appellate Panel Cites Student's Disciplinary History While Sending Negligence Claim Against School District to Trial
- 4A Meta DIG and Its Nvidia Implications
- 5Deception or Coercion? California Supreme Court Grants Review in Jailhouse Confession Case
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250