Filed Date: Feb. 10, 2016
Case Ongoing
Clearinghouse coding complete
On February 10, 2016, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and American Civil Liberties Union Foundation filed this lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of State, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Education. The ACLU sought the release of records related to the federal government’s “Countering Violent Extremism” programs under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552 (FOIA). The ACLU alleged that the agencies did not “make a reasonable effort to search for records in electronic forms or format responsive to Plaintiff’s Request,” in violation of FOIA. The case was assigned to Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.
The ACLU alleged that these initiatives likely posed a risk to the right of equal protection and the freedoms of speech, religion and association. It submitted the original FOIA requests on May 13, 2015. Five of the seven agencies did not respond to the request, or released only a small number of documents.
The documents pertained to the 2011 “Strategic Implementation Plan for Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States.” The plan identified three areas of priority action for the agencies in “building resistance to violent extremism”: “enhancing Federal engagement with and support to local communities that may be targeted by violent extremists....Building government and law enforcement expertise for preventing violent extremism”; and “countering violent extremism propaganda while promoting our ideals.”
The pilot program was implemented in Los Angeles, Boston, and Minneapolis in September 2014. In February 2015, the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice participated in a summit where it was announced that the Department of Justice had already awarded “nearly $3.5 million in grants ‘to address domestic radicalization to violent extremism.’” In July 2015, the House Homeland Security Committee recommended passage a bill that would allocate $10 million to create a Countering Violent Extremism Office within the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Justice also launched the “Strong Cities Network,” which is a platform to “strengthen community resilience against violent extremism” with members New York, Atlanta, Denver and Minneapolis.
Despite the strong governmental commitment to this initiative, the ACLU alleged that agencies had not released basic information on the Countering Violent Extremism programs including policy guidelines, training for officials, criteria for receiving funding or grants, or research and assessments justifying the need for and implementation of these projects.
After the ACLU filed this lawsuit, the court ordered that the agencies issue joint status reports reporting their progress in fulfilling the FOIA requests. The agencies have filed 19 such Joint Status Reports as of August 3, 2020. The ACLU has reported receiving the documents listed here.
Summary Authors
Courtney Liss (1/27/2019)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4498106/parties/american-civil-liberties-union-v-department-of-homeland-security/
Abdo, Alexander (District of Columbia)
Amiri, Brigitte (District of Columbia)
Abbuhl, Joshua Charles (District of Columbia)
Adebonojo, Kenneth A. (District of Columbia)
AMORE, CHRISTOPHER D. (District of Columbia)
Kollar-Kotelly, Colleen (District of Columbia)
Abdo, Alexander (District of Columbia)
Amiri, Brigitte (District of Columbia)
Bargzie, Nasrina (District of Columbia)
Beeson, Ann (District of Columbia)
BUCCOLA, ALLISON R. (District of Columbia)
Crump, Catherine (District of Columbia)
DOBBS, ELAN R. (District of Columbia)
Eber, Gabriel Baron (District of Columbia)
FEINBERG, JONATHAN H. (District of Columbia)
FINE, ADEN J. (District of Columbia)
FRIEDMAN, SETH L. (District of Columbia)
GOLLADAY, ADDISON F. (District of Columbia)
Good, Benjamin Robert (District of Columbia)
Goodman, Melissa (District of Columbia)
Gorski, Ashley (District of Columbia)
GRIFFIN, DOUGLAS (District of Columbia)
GROSSMAN, MEGAN E. (District of Columbia)
Guttentag, Lucas (District of Columbia)
HANSEN, CHRISTOPHER A. (District of Columbia)
HARRIS, CHRISTOPHER R. (District of Columbia)
HARRIS, CHRISTOPHER R. (District of Columbia)
Jaffer, Jameel (District of Columbia)
Jawetz, Tom-Tsvi M. (District of Columbia)
Jefferis, Danielle C. (Colorado)
Kaufman, Brett Max (District of Columbia)
Krishnan, Ramya (District of Columbia)
Krishnan, Meenakshi (District of Columbia)
Kuehler, Natalie N. (District of Columbia)
KWAWEGEN, JEROEN VAN (District of Columbia)
Ladin, Dror (District of Columbia)
Lapidus, Lenora (District of Columbia)
LAUGHLIN, STEFANIE E. (District of Columbia)
Lee, Jennifer (District of Columbia)
Levy, Paul Alan (District of Columbia)
Mach, Daniel (District of Columbia)
Mar, Ria Tabacco (District of Columbia)
MARSHALL, KATHERINE E. (District of Columbia)
McCall, Lee Ann (District of Columbia)
Michelman, Scott M. (District of Columbia)
PALMER, CATHERINE E. (District of Columbia)
Pfeiffer, Margaret K. (District of Columbia)
PRESSER, STEFAN (District of Columbia)
PURDY, ANDREW M. (District of Columbia)
PYLE, MICHELE M. (District of Columbia)
Rabinovitz, Judy (District of Columbia)
ROPER, MARY CATHERINE (District of Columbia)
SAHL, BENJAMIN (District of Columbia)
SALYER, JOHN C. (District of Columbia)
SERRITELLA, PAUL A. (District of Columbia)
Shapiro, Steven R. (District of Columbia)
Shapiro, David Michael (District of Columbia)
SOBEL, DAVID L. (District of Columbia)
Spitzer, Arthur (District of Columbia)
STAPLETON, JOHN S. (District of Columbia)
Stoltz, Mitchell L. (District of Columbia)
Stoughton, Corey (District of Columbia)
SWAYZE, WALTER H. (District of Columbia)
TACK-HOOPER, MOLLY M. (District of Columbia)
Takei, Carl (District of Columbia)
Walker, Benjamin R. (District of Columbia)
Wessler, Nathan Freed (District of Columbia)
WIDMAN, JOSEPH B. (District of Columbia)
Abbuhl, Joshua Charles (District of Columbia)
Adebonojo, Kenneth A. (District of Columbia)
AMORE, CHRISTOPHER D. (District of Columbia)
Anderson, Caroline J. (District of Columbia)
Anderson, Caroline J. (District of Columbia)
Andrapalliyal, Vinita B. (District of Columbia)
Baer, Michael Hendry (District of Columbia)
Beckenhauer, Eric B. (District of Columbia)
BELEN, CHRISTOPHER D. (District of Columbia)
Bell, Venetia D. (District of Columbia)
Bensing, Daniel Edward (District of Columbia)
Berhane, Fithawi (District of Columbia)
Berman, Marcia (District of Columbia)
Bernie, Andrew Marshall (District of Columbia)
Berns, Matthew Joseph (District of Columbia)
Berry, Britney (District of Columbia)
Bhattacharyya, Rupa (District of Columbia)
Bickford, James O. (District of Columbia)
Bitran, Eva Lucia (District of Columbia)
Black, Alesia N. (District of Columbia)
Bloom, Karen (District of Columbia)
Borson, Joseph Evan (District of Columbia)
Borum, Marian L. (District of Columbia)
Bouman, Rachel Ann (District of Columbia)
Bowen, Brigham John (District of Columbia)
Braswell, Marina Utgoff (District of Columbia)
Bressler, Steven Y. (District of Columbia)
Broomhead, Timothy E. (District of Columbia)
Brown, Aimee Woodward (District of Columbia)
Bruce, Blanche L. (District of Columbia)
Brudy-Everett, Kristin (District of Columbia)
Bryce, Peter M. (District of Columbia)
Buckingham, Stephen J. (District of Columbia)
Burch, Alan R. (District of Columbia)
Butler, Damarr M. (District of Columbia)
Campbell, Rhonda Lisa (District of Columbia)
Caplen, Robert Aaron (District of Columbia)
CARMICHAEL, ANDREW EVAN (District of Columbia)
Cartier, Nicholas P. (District of Columbia)
Castellano, Daniel Robert (District of Columbia)
Cirino, Paul (District of Columbia)
Cohen, Jason Todd (District of Columbia)
Cohen, Bradley Heath (District of Columbia)
Coleman, John R. (District of Columbia)
Coles-Huff, Doris Denise (District of Columbia)
Coppolino, Anthony Joseph (District of Columbia)
Corey, Zachary John (District of Columbia)
Crimm, Nina Bafundo (District of Columbia)
Crowley, Megan Anne (District of Columbia)
CRUTCHLOW, JOHN T. (District of Columbia)
Curteman, Dedra Seibel (District of Columbia)
Davis, Kathryn Celia (District of Columbia)
Dearinger, Bryan Scott (District of Columbia)
Desai, Vikas K. (District of Columbia)
D'Ottavio, Kari E. (District of Columbia)
Drezner, Michael Leon (District of Columbia)
Dugan, Joseph C. (District of Columbia)
DURRETT, DEANNA LYNN (District of Columbia)
Edney, Marsha Stelson (District of Columbia)
Elliott, Stephen McCoy (District of Columbia)
Englund, Robert N. (District of Columbia)
Fagan, Shannon L. (District of Columbia)
Farel, Lily Sara (District of Columbia)
Federighi, Carol (District of Columbia)
Feldon, Gary Daniel (District of Columbia)
Field, Brian J. (District of Columbia)
Field, Brian J. (District of Columbia)
Fields, Rhonda C. (District of Columbia)
Folio, Joseph Charles (District of Columbia)
Francis, Tricia Dianne (District of Columbia)
Freeborne, Paul G. (District of Columbia)
Freeny, Kyle Renee (District of Columbia)
Fresco, Leon (District of Columbia)
Frye, Kathleen M. (District of Columbia)
Fu, Wenqiong (District of Columbia)
Gavoor, Aram A. (District of Columbia)
George, Jodi T. (District of Columbia)
Gerardi, Michael Joseph (District of Columbia)
Gilligan, James J. (District of Columbia)
Girdharry, Glenn M. (District of Columbia)
Glass, David Michael (District of Columbia)
Goitein, Elizabeth (District of Columbia)
Goldfluss, Lisa Sheri (District of Columbia)
Gonzalez-Horowitz, Brenda A. (District of Columbia)
Gostin, Kieran Gavin (District of Columbia)
Goulka, Jeremiah (District of Columbia)
Graham-Oliver, Heather D. (District of Columbia)
Guzman, Javier M. (District of Columbia)
Haas, Alexander Kenneth (District of Columbia)
Hair, Christopher Charles (District of Columbia)
Hammer, Jonathan Ryan (District of Columbia)
Hammond, Derek S. (District of Columbia)
Harris, Julie Straus (District of Columbia)
Haynes, Fred Elmore (District of Columbia)
Hendry, Melanie Dyani (District of Columbia)
Herb, Kimberly Lynn (District of Columbia)
Holland, Liam (District of Columbia)
Holloway, Tammy Allison (District of Columbia)
Horn, Daniel Franklin (District of Columbia)
Hudak, Brian P. (District of Columbia)
Huff, Pamela D. (District of Columbia)
Humphreys, Bradley P. (District of Columbia)
Hunt, Laura Ann (District of Columbia)
Hunt, Laura Ann (District of Columbia)
Hurd, Matthew William (District of Columbia)
Interrante, John G. (District of Columbia)
Johnson, Wyneva (District of Columbia)
Johnson, Timothy Andrew (District of Columbia)
Jones, Sian (District of Columbia)
Josephson, Matthew A. (District of Columbia)
JUSTICE, DEPARTMENT OF (District of Columbia)
Kaplan, Jennifer Beth (District of Columbia)
Kaser, Sylvia T. (District of Columbia)
Kelleher, Diane (District of Columbia)
Kelly, Wynne Patrick (District of Columbia)
Kidwell, Judith A. (District of Columbia)
Kirschner, Adam D. (District of Columbia)
Kishore, Deepthy (District of Columbia)
Kneedler, Jennie Leah (District of Columbia)
Kolsky, Joshua M. (District of Columbia)
Konkoly, Antonia Marie (District of Columbia)
LaCour, Alice Shih (District of Columbia)
Layton, Elisabeth (District of Columbia)
Lee, Jason (District of Columbia)
Lee, Lynn Yuhee (District of Columbia)
Leidenheimer, Robert E. (District of Columbia)
Leinwand, Jessica Beth (District of Columbia)
Lennon, John Gregory (District of Columbia)
Lev, Ori (District of Columbia)
Levin, Scott Douglas (District of Columbia)
Littleton, Judson Owen (District of Columbia)
Lo, Michelle (District of Columbia)
LoBue, Joseph W. (District of Columbia)
Lopez-Morales, Cesar A. (District of Columbia)
Luh, James C. (District of Columbia)
Lynch, Jason C. (District of Columbia)
Lyons, Jane M. (District of Columbia)
Maier, Peter Rolf (District of Columbia)
Marcus, Lisa Zeidner (District of Columbia)
Martinez, Gabriel R. (District of Columbia)
McBarnette, Andrea (District of Columbia)
McBride, Patricia K. (District of Columbia)
McDaniel, Oliver W. (District of Columbia)
McDaniel, Oliver W. (District of Columbia)
McElvain, Joel L. (District of Columbia)
Mei, Vesper (District of Columbia)
Meriweather, Robin Michelle (District of Columbia)
Merritt, R. Charlie (District of Columbia)
MERRITT, ROBERT CHARLES (District of Columbia)
Modlinger, Alan Stuart (District of Columbia)
Molen, Kathleene A. (District of Columbia)
Momeni, Mercedeh (District of Columbia)
Moore, Tamra Tyree (District of Columbia)
Morgan, Sherri L. (District of Columbia)
Morris, Brenda K. (District of Columbia)
Motgi, Anjali (District of Columbia)
Motgi, Anjali (District of Columbia)
Myers, Steven A. (District of Columbia)
Nebeker, William Mark (District of Columbia)
Nestler, Emily B. (District of Columbia)
Olson, Lisa Ann (District of Columbia)
O'Neill, Sean Ryan (District of Columbia)
Orloff, Serena Maya (District of Columbia)
OSBORN, JOHN G. (District of Columbia)
Owens, Cindy S. (District of Columbia)
Padda, Paul S. (District of Columbia)
Palmer-Ball, Katherine Boyd (District of Columbia)
Parker, Ryan Bradley (District of Columbia)
Patterson, Nicholas J. (District of Columbia)
Patton, Rodney (District of Columbia)
Peterson, Benton Gregory (District of Columbia)
Pezzi, Stephen M. (District of Columbia)
Pfaffenroth, Peter C. (District of Columbia)
Phillips, Heather R. (District of Columbia)
Phipps, Peter J. (District of Columbia)
Ponto, Laura R. (District of Columbia)
Posner, Michael Benjamin (District of Columbia)
Powell, Amy E. (District of Columbia)
Powell, Amy E. (District of Columbia)
Powers, James R. (District of Columbia)
Press, Joshua Samuel (District of Columbia)
Prince, Robert J. (District of Columbia)
Quinn, Thomas Anthony (District of Columbia)
Quist, Niels Stefan (District of Columbia)
Raines, Joshua Thomas (District of Columbia)
Reuveni, Erez (District of Columbia)
Riess, Daniel (District of Columbia)
Riess, Daniel (District of Columbia)
Risner, Scott (District of Columbia)
Rogers, Joshua L. (District of Columbia)
ROMERO, JACQUELINE CHRISTINE (District of Columbia)
Rosenberg, Brad P. (District of Columbia)
Ross, Carl Ezekiel (District of Columbia)
RUYMANN, JOHN ANDREW (District of Columbia)
Sandberg, Justin Michael (District of Columbia)
Schaefer, Daniel Patrick (District of Columbia)
Schmitt, Addy R. (District of Columbia)
Schwartz, Benjamin Cory (District of Columbia)
Schwei, Daniel Stephen (District of Columbia)
Scott, Olivia R. (District of Columbia)
Seabrook, April Denise (District of Columbia)
Sealls, Kenneth Elliot (District of Columbia)
Seo, Michelle Jean (District of Columbia)
Shapiro, Elizabeth J. (District of Columbia)
Shoaibi, Alexander Daniel (District of Columbia)
Shy, Dionne S. (District of Columbia)
Simon, Jeremy S. (District of Columbia)
Simon, Jeremy S. (District of Columbia)
Singer, Sam M. (District of Columbia)
Siple, Adam Christopher (District of Columbia)
Skurnik, Matthew Charles (District of Columbia)
Smith, Peter S. (District of Columbia)
Smith, Caroline A. (District of Columbia)
Smith, Jeffrey Michael (District of Columbia)
Snead, Jacqueline E. (District of Columbia)
Snell, Kevin Matthew (District of Columbia)
Sokolower, Heather G. (District of Columbia)
Soskin, Eric J. (District of Columbia)
Soskin, Eric J. (District of Columbia)
Sowles, Marcia Kay (District of Columbia)
Sroka, Scott Leeson (District of Columbia)
Stratton, Mary Elizabeth (District of Columbia)
STRINGER, KAREN DEBORAH (District of Columbia)
Subar, Judry Laeb (District of Columbia)
Sullivan, Diane M. (District of Columbia)
Sur, Indraneel (District of Columbia)
Sus, Nikhel (District of Columbia)
Swinton, Nathan Michael (District of Columbia)
Taaffe, Damon W. (District of Columbia)
TAYLOR, ANNE B. (District of Columbia)
Tepe, Sean Michael (District of Columbia)
Theis, John Kenneth (District of Columbia)
Thorp, Galen Nicholas (District of Columbia)
Thurston, Robin Frances (District of Columbia)
Tilghman, Michael A. (District of Columbia)
Tosini, Stephen C. (District of Columbia)
Truong, John Cuong (District of Columbia)
Tulis, Elizabeth Murray (District of Columbia)
Tyler, Emily Kathryn (District of Columbia)
Tyler, John Russell (District of Columbia)
Ullman, Susan K. (District of Columbia)
Valdez, Darrell C. (District of Columbia)
Vanek, Sean Joseph (District of Columbia)
VASSALLO, KRISTIN LYNN (District of Columbia)
Wagner, Michael David (District of Columbia)
Walker, Johnny Hillary (District of Columbia)
WALL, SHEETUL S (District of Columbia)
Weinstein, Laurie J. (District of Columbia)
Weinstein, Laurie J. (District of Columbia)
Wells, Carlotta Porter (District of Columbia)
Westmoreland, Rachael Lynn (District of Columbia)
Whitaker, Claire M. (District of Columbia)
Whitaker, Claire M. (District of Columbia)
Wolverton, Caroline Lewis (District of Columbia)
Womack, Eric R. (District of Columbia)
Wood, Tyler James (District of Columbia)
Wyer, Kathryn L. (District of Columbia)
Yee, Marsha Wellknown (District of Columbia)
Young, Danielle Wolfson (District of Columbia)
Zee, Michael Andrew (District of Columbia)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4498106/american-civil-liberties-union-v-department-of-homeland-security/
Last updated Feb. 23, 2024, 4:43 a.m.
State / Territory: District of Columbia
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Feb. 10, 2016
Case Ongoing: Yes
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
American Civil Liberties Union
Plaintiff Type(s):
Non-profit NON-religious organization
Attorney Organizations:
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Department of Homeland Security, Federal
Department of Education, Federal
Department of Justice, Federal
Department of Health and Human Services, Federal
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal
Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Federal
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552
Constitutional Clause(s):
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Issues
General:
Discrimination-basis:
National Origin/Ethnicity: