ACLU of Ohio Sues 7 ICE Officers for Violating Observer’s First Amendment Rights in Springfield

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Today, the ACLU of Ohio filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of Sean Moorman, a Springfield resident who has been subjected to menacing and intimidation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in retaliation for exercising his First Amendment right to record them in public. Mr. Moorman is a peaceful volunteer, lawfully observing ICE enforcement actions against his Haitian neighbors, and has been the target of a flagrant and escalating campaign of retaliation that continues to this day.

The lawsuit is coupled with a request for an emergency injunction from the court, stating that Mr. Moorman has been subjected to near-daily and worsening retaliatory measures over the last several days, right up to the very filing of this complaint.

The complaint alleges the following disturbing incidents by the defendant ICE officers:

• Swerving a vehicle towards Mr. Moorman’s car as if to ram him;
• Approaching him to take close-range pictures or scans of his face and vehicle license plates, without any apparent cause;
• Pursuing him through a parking lot and repeatedly surrounding or boxing him in with multiple SUVs, making him fear for his life;
• Tailing him through town for an extended period;
• Gesturing to Mr. Moorman to follow them and then leading him on a drive out of town
• and ultimately to his own home, which they drove past slowly as they photographed it, while his wife fearfully locked herself inside. They also photographed her car;
• A few days later, again leading Mr. Moorman on a drive to his house, for no legitimate reason;
• Pulling a truck alongside his car on a public street, blasting a loud horn, and repeatedly screaming his name before driving away.

"ICE watchers are protected by the First Amendment, which guarantees their right to record and observe law enforcement in public,” said David Carey, Managing Legal Director. "Sean Moorman is working tirelessly to support and protect his Haitian neighbors by watching and recording the federal officers who seek to pursue, arrest, and detain them. Observers like Sean serve a vital role in a democracy: monitoring how laws are enforced on the ground, and documenting law enforcement wrongdoing. He must not be forced to choose between exercising his constitutional rights and ensuring his personal safety from law enforcement retaliation. This reckless vendetta by ICE officers must be halted."

The ACLU of Ohio urges the court to issue a temporary restraining order stopping these ICE officers from taking further threatening, intimidating, and retaliatory action against its client.