{"id":3170,"date":"2025-03-23T04:47:58","date_gmt":"2025-03-23T04:47:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=3170"},"modified":"2025-03-23T04:47:58","modified_gmt":"2025-03-23T04:47:58","slug":"he-sued-trump-over-free-speech-then-ice-came-for-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=3170","title":{"rendered":"He Sued Trump Over Free Speech, Then ICE Came for Him"},"content":{"rendered":"


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On Friday, federal <\/span>officials ordered prominent activist and Cornell University graduate student Momodou Taal to surrender to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, Taal\u2019s attorneys confirmed to The Intercept.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Taal, a dual Gambian and British citizen in the U.S. on a student visa, is currently suing the Trump administration to block its targeting of international students protesting in support of Palestinian rights.<\/p>\n

Along with another Cornell graduate student and professor, Taal sued the Trump administration for violating their First Amendment rights, arguing that the targeted deportations of pro-Palestinian activists has a chilling effect on free speech. The suit challenged two of President Donald Trump\u2019s executive orders used to crack down on people advocating for Palestine.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNothing has changed except for the fact that we have filed this lawsuit.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Taal\u2019s lawyers are now arguing that the Trump administration\u2019s request for Taal to turn himself in to ICE is a retaliation for his lawsuit and for his pro-Palestinian beliefs.<\/p>\n

Eric Lee, an attorney representing Taal in the lawsuit called the government\u2019s demand for Taal to turn himself in \u201cextremely unusual\u201d and \u201cvery concerning.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThese types of things do not happen in a democracy where people have the right to seek redress of grievances of the government,\u201d Lee said.<\/p>\n

Chris Godshall-Bennett, the legal director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee who is also part of Taal\u2019s team on the lawsuit, called the move \u201coutrageous.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no basis for his removal,\u201d said Godshall-Bennett. \u201cNothing has changed except for the fact that we have filed this lawsuit \u2014 so it really is just an outrageous situation that should be treated as such.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Midnight Email<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In a midnight email sent to Taal\u2019s attorneys, a lawyer with the Department of Justice relayed a request from ICE demanding Taal\u2019s detention,\u00a0inviting Taal \u201cto surrender to ICE custody\u201d at the agency\u2019s Homeland Security Investigations office in Syracuse, New York, according to the attorneys and court filings, which include a copy of the email<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Attorneys representing Taal argue that the order only further strengthens their claims that the Trump administration is targeting activists for speaking out.<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s demand constituted \u201can unlawful attempt\u201d to use deportation \u201cin retribution\u201d for the lawsuit against the Trump administration, according to an emergency letter sent to the court on Friday by Taal\u2019s lawyers. (Neither ICE nor the Department of Justice immediately responded to requests for comment.)<\/p>\n

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Federal District Court Judge Elizabeth Coombe responded to the emergency letter by ordering the government to address by Saturday whether its attempts to detain Taal are based on the very Trump executive orders at the center of his lawsuit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Taal\u2019s lawyers also noted in their emergency letter that the Trump administration\u2019s demands were unprecedented.<\/p>\n

They wrote, \u201cThe undersigned are not aware of any other instance in which the government has attempted to initiate service of an NTA\u201d \u2014 a notice to appear \u2014 \u201cthrough the Department of Justice in response to the noncitizen filing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of presidential action.\u201d<\/p>\n

ICE\u2019s Order<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Before receiving the order to turn himself over, Taal expressed concerns that he was being watched, claims his attorneys corroborated in their recent filings. According to eyewitness testimonies submitted in the court filings on Wednesday,\u00a0a law enforcement vehicle \u2014 the driver flashed a badge to the witnesses \u2014 was parked outside of Taal\u2019s home in Ithaca, New York, on Wednesday. They were not able to identify what agency the official was from.<\/p>\n

Taal\u2019s attorneys filed a temporary restraining order the same day as the witness testimonies asking the courts to prevent the government from detaining or deporting their client before his scheduled March 25 hearing. Dozens of protesters gathered at Cornell<\/a> on Thursday in support of Taal, chanting \u201cHands off Momodou.\u201d<\/p>\n

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