Federal prosecutors Tuesday tried to quell concern from privacy advocates by amending the government’s demand for millions of IP addresses from a Los Angeles-based tech company as part of an investigation into rioters in Washington, D.C., during the Jan. 20 inauguration.
In July, a D.C. Superior Court judge signed a warrant filed by federal prosecutors in which they demanded more than 1.3 million IP addresses to identify visitors to the website, Disruptj20.org from the company which hosts the site, DreamHost. Prosecutors say the website was used to coordinate violent protests during President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
DreamHost and other privacy rights advocates such as the non-profit group Public Citizen, argued the warrant violated the users’ Constitutional rights. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday in D.C. Superior Court before Judge Robert Morin, the court’s chief judge. Attorneys for DreamHost and the government are expected to argue over the legal authority of such a warrant.
In a filing late Tuesday, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District amended the original warrant by saying they plan only to focus on the 200 or so individuals who have already been charged with rioting.
The 1.3 million Internet Protocol addresses, prosecutors say, were from computer users who visited the website between Jan. 23 and Jan. 28, 2017, days after the inauguration and are not part of the case.
“The government has no interest in records relating to the 1.3 million IP addresses that are mentioned in DreamHost’s numerous press releases and opposition briefs,” prosecutors wrote in their filing. Prosecutors also said that they would “set aside” and seal any information obtained from DreamHost that is not originally sought after and specifically in the warrant. Prosecutors however, did say they could revisit such information obtained, but would only do so with a court order.
As part of their amended request, prosecutors said they were seeking email addresses associated with Disruptj20.org, as well as email addresses of third parties associated with the website.
Prosecutors are also seeking membership discussion lists associated as well as more than 2,000 photographs associated with the website. Prosecutors are also seeking unpublished material such as “draft blog posts” and “hundreds” of other images.
A spokesman for Dream host said they were preparing a response about the filing.
In the amended filing, prosecutors said they were unaware at the time of their initial July warrant request of the more specified material, which they are now seeking as evidence for their case.
“The government is focused on the criminal acts of defendants and their co-conspirators, and not their political views – and certainly not the lawful activities of peaceful protesters,” the prosecutors wrote in the new filing. “Similarly, the government is focused on the use of the Website to organize, to plan, and to effect a criminal act — that is, a riot.”
Prosecutors have charged more than 200 people with various charges associated with the inauguration riots and have obtained 19 guilty pleas. Trials for about 200 defendants are scheduled to begin this fall and last through 2018.
(c) 2017, The Washington Post · Keith L. Alexander
{Matzav.com}
What hypocrites. If any white person would of gone onto any anti Obama website, the Feds would be there in seconds to arrest him on hate crimes charges.
In fact when someone doesn’t be aware of after that its up to other
viewers that they will help, so here it happens.