If perhaps you were wondering whether or not the Trump administration would go full fascist, a move this week by the Department of Justice would seem to suggest that the idea of privacy is not something this White House values in the least.
On Monday, web hosting provider DreamHost was served with a search warrant by the Feds which demands they hand over all records related to the website Disrupt20.org. Specifically, the warrant is for all information:
“Involving the individuals who participated, planed [sic], organized, or incited the January 20 (Election Day) riot (in Washington, D.C.)”
Disrupt20.org has been used by the organizers of protests across the country to coordinate actions, locations, times, etc. for planned demonstrations. But the Justice Department says they want DreamHost to provide them with IP addresses, emails, and physical addresses of the website owners, as well as similar information about the site’s users.
For their part, DreamHost said in a blog posting:
“The request from the DOJ demands that DreamHost hand over 1.3 million visitor IP addresses — in addition to contact information, email content, and photos of thousands of people — in an effort to determine who simply visited the website.
“That information could be used to identify any individuals who used this site to exercise and express political speech protected under the Constitution’s First Amendment.This is, in our opinion, a strong example of investigatory overreach and a clear abuse of government authority.”
DreamHost has already filed arguments in opposition to the overly broad search warrant, but the very fact that the Justice Department has asked for the information should serve as a warning to anyone who dares to criticize or organize a demonstration against this president. Trump is a vain, shallow man-child who cannot handle criticism. He’s also paranoid, demented, and an admirer of despots.
If the White House thinks they can eliminate dissent in this country, they’re sadly mistaken. And the more they try to, the more they will spark even larger demonstrations and more pointed criticism. And they will also speed up the demise of this corrupt administration.
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