FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Civil Liberties Defense Center Responds to Federal Court Decision Allowing

Grand Jury to Subpoena Reddit User’s Personal Information

Washington, D.C.  – Late last week, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied Civil Liberties Defense Center’s motion to quash a federal grand jury subpoena demanding that Reddit reveal the identity and personal information about our client, whose social media posts have criticized the federal government. The court also denied CLDC ‘s motion to unseal the proceedings due to the public interest in the case.

This comes after CLDC successfully stopped an earlier attempt by DHS, in which an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigator in Virginia had submitted a blatantly illegal “administrative summons” to Reddit, demanding that it produce extensive private information about our client. The purported authority for the summons was a statute that involves import/export and tariffs. Our client had no involvement with such things, but had posted statements critical of ICE, among other political topics. When Reddit told our client about the summons, CLDC immediately filed a “motion to quash” (asking the court to throw out the summons) in federal court in the Northern District of California. The government immediately withdrew that summons, rather than defend it in court. However, the very next day the federal grand jury issued a secret subpoena to Reddit, requesting the exact same private information, and more.

Lauren Regan, CLDC’s lead attorney and Director of Litigation and Advocacy, stated “We are deeply disappointed by Judge Boasberg’s decision on both fronts. Our client is being targeted for exercising their First Amendment right to post his criticism of the Trump Administration. Transparency and fairness are key tenets of democracy, and these secret proceedings are contrary to American values. We are currently reviewing all available options, including but not limited to appeal. CLDC will continue to stand up for First Amendment rights, especially the rights of those who speak out against the unconscionable actions of ICE and the current federal administration.”