DHS Wants Protesters’ Signal Group Chats
DHS Wants Protesters’ Signal Group Chats
美国国土安全部试图获取抗议者的 Signal 群聊记录
The Department of Homeland Security is seeking neighborhood “rapid response” Signal group chats as it defends itself in a lawsuit accusing it of violating protesters’ First Amendment rights, according to recent court filings. Attorneys for protesters in the case argue that the move itself is a First Amendment violation. 根据最近的法庭文件，美国国土安全部（DHS）在应对一起指控其侵犯抗议者第一修正案权利的诉讼时，正试图获取社区“快速反应”的 Signal 群聊记录。该案中抗议者的代理律师认为，此举本身就构成了对第一修正案的侵犯。
The case, Hilton v. Noem, was filed in federal court in Maine earlier this year. Plaintiffs in the case accuse DHS of violating their First Amendment rights by surveilling their activities. For example, one of the plaintiffs alleges that DHS agents scanned her face and collected her license plate information while she was observing Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity, telling her they were going to put her in a “nice little database.” 这起名为“希尔顿诉诺姆”（Hilton v. Noem）的案件于今年早些时候在缅因州的联邦法院提起。原告指控国土安全部通过监视他们的活动侵犯了其第一修正案权利。例如，其中一名原告声称，当她在观察美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）的活动时，国土安全部特工扫描了她的面部并收集了她的车牌信息，还告诉她要把她录入一个“不错的数据库”中。
According to the filings, Maine residents began organizing together after immigration enforcement activity ramped up in their neighborhoods. This included starting group chats on Signal to share when and where DHS operations were taking place. 根据文件显示，在移民执法活动于当地社区加剧后，缅因州居民开始组织起来。他们通过在 Signal 上建立群聊，分享国土安全部行动的时间和地点。
As part of the lawsuit, the government was granted discovery. According to a declaration from Genevieve Nadeau, one of the attorneys representing the protesters and special counsel and program lead for Protect Democracy’s Civil Society Defense, the government sought several things. These included a list of all the protests each of the named defendants attended, any communications—including comments or “likes”—reflecting the named plaintiffs’ “beliefs and opinions regarding law enforcement personnel, operations, tactics, and activity,” and any communications concerning “opportunities to observe and/or record ICE activity in Maine, from January 20, 2025, to the present.” 作为诉讼程序的一部分，政府获得了证据开示权。代表抗议者的律师之一、Protect Democracy 民权防御项目特别顾问兼负责人吉纳维芙·纳多（Genevieve Nadeau）在一份声明中表示，政府寻求获取多项信息。其中包括：每位被点名的被告参加的所有抗议活动列表；任何反映原告“对执法人员、行动、策略和活动的信念与观点”的通讯记录（包括评论或“点赞”）；以及任何关于“自 2025 年 1 月 20 日至今，在缅因州观察和/或记录 ICE 活动机会”的通讯记录。
In June, attorneys for the protesters sent a letter to the Department of Justice, saying that they were intentionally withholding all community group Signal chats that would otherwise be considered responsive to the government’s requests. 今年 6 月，抗议者的律师致信司法部，表示他们正有意扣留所有社区 Signal 群聊记录，尽管这些记录本可能被视为符合政府的调取要求。
The attorneys turned over smaller Signal group chats to the court but said in the letter that they had redacted the contact information of people who weren’t plaintiffs in the case, as well as communications that revealed the priorities of a Signal community group chat or might reveal any tactics or strategies used by one. 律师们向法院提交了规模较小的 Signal 群聊记录，但在信中说明，他们已经删除了非本案原告的联系方式，并遮盖了那些可能揭示社区群聊重点，或可能暴露其所用策略与战术的通讯内容。
Attorneys for the government also deposed plaintiffs and tried asking them numerous questions about the community Signal group chats. According to the letter, some of the questions they asked included whether public officials or unnamed political groups were participating in the chats, whether people from outside of Maine were participants, and who the organizers of the chats were. 政府方的律师还对原告进行了取证，并试图询问他们大量关于社区 Signal 群聊的问题。据信中称，他们提出的问题包括：是否有公职人员或未具名的政治团体参与了这些群聊，是否有缅因州以外的人员参与，以及谁是这些群聊的组织者。
“The government wants access to private Signal chats that communities in Maine and around the country are using to coordinate lawful responses to dangerous abuses of power playing out on the streets where they live and work,” says Nadeau. “We’re asking the court to deny that access and shut down the government’s attempt to intrude on the fundamental First Amendment right to engage in collective action that is so critical to a healthy democracy.” “政府想要获取私人 Signal 群聊记录，而这些记录是缅因州乃至全国各地的社区用来协调合法行动，以应对发生在其生活和工作街道上的危险权力滥用行为的，”纳多表示，“我们请求法院拒绝政府的访问要求，并阻止其侵犯第一修正案赋予的集体行动基本权利，这对于健康的民主至关重要。”
DHS and the Department of Justice, which is litigating the case, did not respond to a request for comment. 负责此案诉讼的国土安全部和司法部均未回应置评请求。
“You shouldn’t have to give up that First Amendment right to expressive association if you need to sue to protect your First Amendment rights,” says Adam Steinbaugh, a senior attorney at FIRE, a nonprofit civil liberties group. 非营利性公民自由组织 FIRE 的高级律师亚当·斯坦鲍（Adam Steinbaugh）表示：“如果你需要通过诉讼来保护自己的第一修正案权利，你不应该被迫放弃第一修正案所保障的表达性结社权利。”
DHS has been relentless in its pursuit of people who are critical of the administration’s immigration policies. The government has attempted to unmask critics, including one Canadian，by subpoenaing tech companies to obtain their names and other identifying information, and ICE’s internal watchdog has investigated more than 100 instances of what it says are “incidents of doxing and threats” against ICE employees. 国土安全部一直不遗余力地追查那些批评政府移民政策的人。政府曾试图通过传唤科技公司获取姓名和其他身份信息来揭露批评者（包括一名加拿大人）；此外，ICE 的内部监督机构已调查了 100 多起其所谓的针对 ICE 员工的“人肉搜索和威胁事件”。