29/07/2026
The Trump administration is threatening people in the United States with up to 20 years in prison for conduct that can include sharing evidence of Israeli crimes with sanctioned International Criminal Court officials or working with Palestinian human rights groups targeted by US restrictions.
That is the central claim in a lawsuit filed on 15 July in federal court in Manhattan by Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) and the Taxpayer Alliance Against Genocide (TAAG).
The defendants include President Donald Trump and senior officials at the State, Treasury and Justice departments and the Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers US sanctions.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare that the sanctions violate the First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and association and exceed the president’s powers under federal law.
The plaintiffs also want a court order preventing the government from enforcing the restrictions against their human rights advocacy.
In an interview with The Electronic Intifada Podcast, DAWN executive director Omar Shakir said the administration has never clearly defined the “services” Americans are forbidden to provide to or receive from a sanctioned person or organization.
Activities potentially covered include advising ICC prosecutors, helping them contact victims and witnesses, submitting legal briefs, sharing evidence with sanctioned organizations or coordinating advocacy with them.
“Let me emphasize again what the penalties are for Americans under the sanctions: 20 years in prison, up to $1 million in fines,” Shakir said.
You can watch this writer’s conversation with Shakir and TAAG co-founder Tariq Ra’ouf in the video at the top of this article.
(📸Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons)
Excerpt from "Lawsuit challenges Trump threat to imprison Americans for Gaza advocacy” by Ali Abunimah. Read the article at electronicintifada.net.
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora-barrows-friedman/israel-erasing-entire-gaza-families-civil-registry
