Llamas et al. v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection et al., No. 6:2021-cv-01169 (M.D. Fla., filed July 18, 2021)
After the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis, Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25, 2020, civil unrest and protests spread across the United States. In response to the protests, the federal government deployed officials from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the United States Marshals Service (USMS), among others, to different U.S. cities and engaged in aerial surveillance of those participating in the protests.
In January 2021, Noelle Llamas and Ken Klippenstein, respectively a college student and a reporter for The Intercept, submitted six Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to CBP, ICE, FBI, USMS, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Department of Justice (DOJ) seeking records related to emails sent from specific officials during the period of May 25, 2020 to August 15, 2020 in an attempt to learn more about the messaging related to each federal agency’s deployment of law enforcement officials during this period of time. In particular, the requests sought records concerning each agency’s internal messaging and responses to news media inquiries about the deployments.
Although the agencies acknowledged receipt of each request, Llamas and Klippenstein did not receive a final determination on any of them. On July 18, 2021, they filed suit against the agencies for the records sought in their FOIA requests. Defendants filed their answer on September 20, 2021. The court set February 27, 2023 as the filing deadline for motions for summary judgment.
Documents:
Counsel: Elizabeth E. Bourdon, B.C.S.
Contact: Elizabeth (Beth) Bourdon | bbourdon@me.com
Hold CBP Accountable 