|
|
|
|
|
Last Wednesday, November 3, David House, a 23-year-old researcher who works at MIT, was returning to the U.S. from a short vacation with his girlfriend in Mexico, and was subjected to similar and even worse treatment. House's crime: he did work in helping set up the Bradley Manning Support Network, an organization created to raise money for Manning's legal defense fund, and he has now visited Manning three times in Quantico, Virginia, where the accused WikiLeaks leaker is currently being detained (all those visits are fully monitored by government agents). Like Appelbaum, House has never been accused of any crime, never been advised that he's under investigation, and was never told by any federal agents that he's suspected of any wrongdoing at all.
[...]
Last Wednesday, House arrived at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, and his flight was met in the concourse by customs agents, who examined the passports of all deplaning passengers until they saw House's, at which point they stopped. He was then directed to Customs, where his and his girlfriend's bags were extensively searched. After the search was complete, two men identifying themselves as Homeland Security officials told House and his girlfriend they were being detained for questioning and would miss their connecting flight. House was told that he was required to relinquish all of his electronic products, and thus gave them his laptop, cellphone, digital camera and UBS flash drive. The document he received itemizing his seized property is here [ NO LONGER AVAILABLE, WEB ARCHIVE]. He was also told to give the agents all of his passwords and encryption keys, which he refused to do.
[...]
House was then taken to a detention room by two armed agents and on his way there, he passed by a room in which several individuals were plugging various instruments into his laptop and cellphone. The two agents, Marcial Santiago and Darin Louck, proceeded to question him for 90 minutes about why he was visiting Manning in prison, what work he did to support the Manning campaign, who else was involved in the Manning support group, and what his views were on WikiLeaks. He was told that he would not receive his laptop or camera back, and the agents kept it. To date, he has not received them back and very well may never. When he told them that he had roughly 20 hours of source code work in his laptop and would like to save it or email it to a saved site, they told him he could not do that. He subsequently learned from Agent Santiago that although Agent Louck identified himself as a Homeland Security agent, he is, in fact, with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. |
| |
Name(s:) |
Glenn Greenwald |
| |
Title: |
Journalist |
| |
Agency(ies): |
Salon |
|
Concerning: |
Border Searches, Grand Jury, Search and Seizure |
|
Url: |
Url Link
|
|
|
Customs Form 6051D (11/01), [SIGNED BY] Darin A. Louck 11/3/2010, Acceptance/CHAIN of CUSTODY R. Hart, SA CHI ICE |
| |
Agency(ies): |
United States Customs Service |
|
Concerning: |
Border Searches, Grand Jury, Search and Seizure |
|
Url: |
Url Link
|
|
|
Coming into Chicago O'Hara Airport...stopped immediately after getting off the plane...passports were checked...people checking our passports ran ahead and kinda prepped the customs area...went to the bag search area...went through all of our belonging very thoroughly...asked my girlfriend at length about the book Hackers...why she was reading it...leaving border search area...approached by two individuals...identified themselves initially as DHS agents...told me I was compelled to surrender all of my belongings including my electronic belongings...took my belongings to the back...lead my girlfriend and I back to and interrogation area...we were interrogated for about an hour....missing our connecting flights...asked to surrender my password to computer as well as any encrypted media...a request which I refused...their questions primarily focused on the the Bradley Manning Support Network...seemed like I was being targeted for my activism for Bradley Manning' He indicated that others computers have been seized. He has been asks questions repeatedly by agents at the border. |
| |
Name(s:) |
David House |
|
Concerning: |
Border Searches, Grand Jury, Search and Seizure |
|
Url: |
Url Link
|
|
|
15. On November 3, 2010, following a vacation in Mexico, Plaintiff arrived at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport where he was to take a connecting flight to Boston. He was carrying his laptop computer, a USB storage device, a video camera containing a memory storage device, and a cellular phone. Upon arrival, Plaintiff passed through a passport control station, collected his baggage, and proceeded to customs, where a CBP officer advised him that his belongings would be searched. The officer examined Plaintiff's computer and noted that it was warm but did not attempt to open it. Plaintiff was then told that he was free to leave.
16. After entering the terminal and starting to walk toward his connecting domestic flight, Plaintiff was stopped by two government agents who stated that they were with the Department of Homeland Security. The agents' name-tags identified them as Darin Louck and Marcial Santiago. Agents Louck and Santiago stated that Plaintiff was being detained and would miss his connecting flight. The two agents did not explain the reason or the authority for detaining Plaintiff.
17. Agents Louck and Santiago told Plaintiff that he would have to give them any electronic devices he was carrying. Plaintiff surrendered his computer, USB storage device, video camera, and cellular phone. Plaintiff was not asked for his consent and was not presented with a search warrant. Nor was he provided with any explanation of the purpose or authority for taking his property. The agents took Plaintiff's devices and directed him to be seated and wait. When the agents returned a short time later, they were no longer in possession of the items they had taken.
18. Plaintiff was directed to accompany the two agents to an interrogation room, where he was initially asked a series of questions concerning the security of his computer. He advised the two agents that the computer's hard disk was not encrypted, but that the computer was password protected. When asked, he declined to give them his password, explaining that the password itself would have allowed direct and unauthorized access to research on his employer's server.
19. Agents Louck and Santiago detained Plaintiff for questioning for an extended period. They questioned Plaintiff regarding his association with Bradley Manning, his work for the Support Network, whether he had any connections to WikiLeaks, and whether he had been in contact with anyone from WikiLeaks during his trip to Mexico. Plaintiff was asked no questions relating to border control, customs, trade, immigration, or terrorism, and at no point did the agents suggest that plaintiff had broken the law or that his computer contained any illegal material. Plaintiff answered their questions truthfully and to the best of his ability.
20. When Plaintiff was finally allowed to leave, only his cell phone was returned to him. The other items which had been taken, specifically his laptop, USB device, and video camera, were not returned. Plaintiff was given a receipt listing the items that had been seized, indicating that 'R. Hart, SAC CHI ICE' had taken custody of them. He was told that his devices would be returned by FedEx within a week. |
| |
Name(s:) |
David House |
|
Concerning: |
Border Searches, Grand Jury, Search and Seizure |
|
Url: |
Url Link
|
|
Title: |
Web Archive of US Customs Service, Detention Notice and Custody Receipt for Detained Property |
|
Concerning: |
"Border Searches, Grand Jury, Search and Seizure |
|
|
