{"id":31552,"date":"2026-06-24T20:03:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T20:03:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=31552"},"modified":"2026-06-24T20:03:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T20:03:40","slug":"the-intercept-sues-to-uncover-secretive-government-anti-protester-database","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=31552","title":{"rendered":"The Intercept Sues to Uncover Secretive Government Anti-Protester Database"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span class=\"has-underline\">The Intercept is<\/span> challenging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security\u2019s refusal to release public documents relating to an unlawful database intended to stifle protest and punish people who exercise their First Amendment rights. In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York today, The Intercept is asking the court to compel the government to release documents requested through the Freedom of Information Act regarding increased surveillance and travel restrictions for protesters. The Intercept is represented by Democracy Forward in the case.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s not illegal to monitor the activity of immigration agents inside your community,\u201d said Ben Muessig, editor-in-chief of The Intercept. \u201cWhat is illegal is the U.S. government\u2019s secret list of activists \u2014 and its refusal to turn over information about that database to the American public.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"promote-banner\">\n    <a class=\"promote-banner__link\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/series\/unmasking-ice\/\"><br \/><span class=\"promote-banner__image\"><br \/><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/HSI-Badges-Lede.jpg?fit=300%2C150\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/HSI-Badges-Lede.jpg?w=3000 3000w, https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/HSI-Badges-Lede.jpg?w=300 300w, https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/HSI-Badges-Lede.jpg?w=768 768w, https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/HSI-Badges-Lede.jpg?w=1024 1024w, https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/HSI-Badges-Lede.jpg?w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/HSI-Badges-Lede.jpg?w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/HSI-Badges-Lede.jpg?w=540 540w, https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/HSI-Badges-Lede.jpg?w=1000 1000w, https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/HSI-Badges-Lede.jpg?w=2400 2400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"\/>        <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"promote-banner__text\">\n<p class=\"promote-banner__eyebrow\">\n            Read Our Complete Coverage          <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><br \/><\/aside>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sweeping immigration enforcement actions performed by DHS and its component agencies \u2014 including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection \u2014 in recent months have led to a countermovement of civilians protesting and <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/collections\/unmasking-ice\/\">recording immigration enforcement actions<\/a> in cities and towns across the United States. In response to the swell of public support for democracy, news reports and social media posts about encounters with ICE and CBP agents have suggested that by using photos, video, <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/01\/16\/trump-abolish-ice-renee-good-jonathan-ross\/\">license plates<\/a>, hotel check-in information, and more to create a database of lawful protesters, the government may be taking concerning action affecting the rights of those exercising their First Amendment rights. There are other indications that DHS may have used its authority <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/03\/05\/ice-cbp-minnesota-surveillance-intimidation-observers\/\">over traveler programs to retaliate<\/a> against protesters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In one example, a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/allenanalysis\/status\/2014726554622816585\">video<\/a> posted to social media on January 23, 2026, depicts federal agents recording a protester, saying that they were recording her \u201cbecause we have a nice little database, and now you\u2019re considered a domestic terrorist.\u201d In another example, a <a href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/MTR5-HTRK\">court hearing<\/a> regarding immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota reportedly included an exhibit of a recording of a federal agent saying, \u201cWell, this person is gonna have a hard time traveling from now on\u201d after taking a photo of an ICE observer\u2019s license plate. In a <a href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/LLP4-SNXE\">separate court case<\/a>, a civilian observing ICE submitted a declaration stating that her TSA PreCheck and Global Entry statuses were revoked three days after an encounter with immigration enforcement officials. Additionally, at least one prominent supporter of transgender rights has <a href=\"https:\/\/perma.cc\/QXZ8-RTDE\">reportedly<\/a> had her Global Entry access and U.S. passport canceled in the past few months.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"promote-banner\">\n    <a class=\"promote-banner__link\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/collections\/chilling-dissent\/\"><br \/><span class=\"promote-banner__image\"><br \/><img width=\"300\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?fit=300%2C150\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?w=300 300w, https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?w=768 768w, https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?w=1024 1024w, https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?w=540 540w, https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/collection_21_AP25080472815958.jpg.webp?w=1000 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"\/>        <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"promote-banner__text\">\n<p class=\"promote-banner__eyebrow\">\n            Read our complete coverage          <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><br \/><\/aside>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In order to shed light on these reported abuses of power, earlier this year, The Intercept filed FOIA requests to help uncover important information about DHS\u2019s efforts to increase surveillance of protesters and unlawful retaliation against people exercising their rights. Despite acknowledging the receipt of the requests, DHS has not produced the requested public documents, as required by law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe government is not allowed to selectively hide information about its actions that impact protected First Amendment activity,\u201d said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward. \u201cThe surveillance and retaliation being reported would be egregious violations of core constitutional principles, and we are honored to represent a storied news organization as it fights to demand the public have access to the information we need to protect our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The case is <em>The Intercept v. DHS et al.<\/em>, and the legal team at Democracy Forward working on the case includes Amy Vickery, Daniel McGrath, Ron Fein, and Robin Thurston.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Read today\u2019s filing <a href=\"https:\/\/democracyforward.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Intercept_Complaint_FILED.pdf\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>#Intercept #Sues #Uncover #Secretive #Government #AntiProtester #Database<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Intercept is challenging t&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31553,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[246],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31552"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}