By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
The Justice Department scaled back its request for information about visitors to an anti-Trump website following claims that the request violated free speech rights.
The Justice Department is no longer seeking the digital addresses that could identify more than 1 million visitors to the website, which helped organize protests on President Trump’s Inauguration Day, the Los Angeles Times reports.
In a court filing Monday, government lawyers said they “had no interest in records relating to the 1.3 million IP addresses” of site visitors. Instead, the Justice Department wants information on planning and coordinating protests.
“The government values and respects the 1st Amendment right of all Americans to participate in peaceful political protests and to read protected political expression online. This warrant has nothing to do with that right,” the filing said.
