Here is what I was sent after getting in touch with a law group and getting on their email list.
Our client, Jon Doe, read a news article about government attempts to deport a man seeking asylum from Afghanistan, where he could be killed for having helped the United States government against the Taliban.
Appalled by the man's treatment, Jon emailed the government's lead attorney at a publicly available email address to politely express his disapproval – simply calling on the Department of Homeland Security to "apply principles of common sense and decency."
Within hours, DHS had subpoenaed Google for information associated with Jon's Gmail account, including his address, Social Security number, and driver's license number. A few weeks later, federal agents came to his home asking questions about the email he had sent asking DHS to protect the asylum seeker.
This is an outrageous overreach. We have the right to criticize the government. Jon merely sent an email to a public official expressing dismay about the official's conduct of his public duties. Nothing could be closer to what the First Amendment is designed to protect.
That's why we asked the courts to throw out this subpoena.
The government's actions are intended to intimidate our client, chill his speech, and punish him for dissent.