A federal judge concluded an FBI watchlist containing more than 1 million “known or suspected terrorists” violates the constitutional rights of the U.S. citizens in the database.
Wednesday’s ruling from U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga of the Eastern District of Virginia came in response to a lawsuit from 23 Muslim Americans who were included on the watchlist.
“There is no evidence, or contention, that any of these plaintiffs satisfy the definition of a ‘known terrorist,’” Trenga wrote in his decision. “None have been convicted, charged or indicted for any criminal offense related to terrorism, or otherwise. Rather, Plaintiffs are included in the [database] because they have been labeled as ‘suspected terrorists,’ a determination that this Court has found ‘to be based to a large extent on subjective judgments.’”
Trenga said in his 32-page ruling that the list restricts the plaintiffs’ ability to fly and partake in everyday activities. The standards for inclusion on the watchlist was also too vague, he said.
“The court concludes that the risk of erroneous deprivation of plaintiffs’ travel-related and reputational liberty interests is high, and the currently existing procedural safeguards are not sufficient to address that risk,” he wrote.
As of June 2017, about 1.2 million individuals were on the watchlist. Of that number, about 4,600 were American citizens protected under the Constitution.
Though the judge said the current procedures were not adequate, he did not determine how the situation should be remedied. He ordered both the lawyers for the plaintiffs and the Justice Department to submit arguments for how to “adequately protect a citizen’s constitutional rights while not unduly compromising public safety or national security.”
The parties have 45 days to submit their arguments for how the list could meet those requirements.
