The Department of Justice is compelling a broad set of Internet records related to an organization established to coordinate anti-Trump protests during Inauguration Day, prompting a legal fight, according to multiple reports this week.
The Washington Post reported Monday that DreamHost, a Los Angeles-based web host, is fighting a DoJ warrant demanding it turn over the IP addresses of more than 1.3 million visitors to DisruptJ20.org, which was set up to help disrupt inaugural events:
A Washington, D.C., superior court judge issued the warrant on July 12 and served DreamHost on July 17. When DreamHost protested that the warrant was far too broad, prosecutors offered a motion to compel the company to hand over DisruptJ20 information.
“That website was used in the development, planning, advertisement and organization of a violent riot that occurred in Washington, D.C. on January 20, 2017,” the Post quotes U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips as saying. Phillips added that concern about breadth “simply is not a sufficient basis… to refuse to comply with the warrant.”
A prosecutorial motion to show cause obtained by the New York Times argues that DreamHost has no legal basis for failing to produce the requested materials.
“A search pursuant to a search warrant is presumed lawful,” the motion reads. “The Court’s search warrant in this case is no exception to these legal standards.” The Times report cited protests during the inauguration carried out by Antifa:
Trump singled out Tuesday what he called the “alt-left,” presumably including Antifa, for violent activity in Charlottesville last weekend. He previously had taken heat from both Democrats and Republicans for his failure to denounce the white nationalists who instigated the events there. He criticized such individuals directly for the first time on Monday.
