“The seizure of David House’s computer is a chilling
example of the government’s overbroad ability to conduct
a search at the border that intrudes into a person’s
political beliefs and associations,” said John Reinstein,
an attorney with the ACLU of Massachusetts. “Those
rights were vindicated by the settlement we reached.”
In
March 2012, the U.S. district court judge in the case
rejected the government’s effort to dismiss the lawsuit,
ruling that even if the government does not need
suspicion to search a laptop at the border, that power
is not unlimited and First Amendment rights remain
intact. The settlement announced today is the result of
months of negotiations following that decision.
“When my laptop was seized on American soil, I made a
pledge to the everyday working people, clergy, and U.S.
service members who make up the heart of Mr. Manning's
financial contributors: that their generosity would not
be met with retaliation from corrupt elements within our
government, and that their personally identifying
information, placed at risk by the seizure, would be
reclaimed from those who had ordered it seized,” House
said.
“Today, with a settlement to reclaim this data
realized through the pressure of the courts and the
hard work of the ACLU, I have made good on my
pledge. The government's surrender of this data is a
victory through vital action not only for the
citizens put at risk, but also for anyone who
believes that Americans should be free to support
political causes without fearing retaliation from
Washington.”
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