The Justice Department is attempting to make the company Dreamhost turn over private information for over 1.3 million individuals who visited the website DisruptJ20.org.

The website was created by one of the company’s customers with the intent of impeding President Trump's inauguration back in January. A judge issued a warrant for the data which includes information like the IP addresses, names, addresses, credit card information and any other identifying information they have for each individual on file. The Justice Department is not only asking Dreamhost to release private information, they also want to know what each person viewed on the website -each item they could have possibly glanced at- because of the supposed violence the content allegedly incited.

President Trump’s inauguration incited tremendous protests and an already divided country became fractured.

The government was made by the people, for the people, and while that intention is not always fully realized, the basic principle remains intact. The public has a right to criticize the government and speak out against any of its actions. James Madison wrote that “if men were angels, no government would be necessary,” but men are not angels, and that includes those who are elected to public office. We all have a right, and a duty, to engage in the political process and shape our society in the best way we possibly can and our right to speak out against perceived injustice should not be silenced.

Not everyone who visited that website was involved in the protests and even if they were, they are entitled to freedom of expression. Instead of going on this Anti-Trump witch-hunt, warrants should be issued for those who actually terrorize the country and break the law. The Department of Justice seems more concerned with rooting out political dissidents and this warrant seems to be a one-size-fits all means of punishing President Trump’s opponents.

Invading the privacy of those individuals simply because they visited a website that protested the current administration is a sickening and chilling use of the justice system. There are times when the government may need to learn that information because of impending danger but in this case, opposing beliefs are seen as enough of a threat to warrant obtaining the information of over 1.3 million individuals. The whole idea is more ironic in the wake of the terror attack in Charlottesville. If any warrants should be out, they should be asking for the web history from those terrorists, not individuals whose only crime was exercising their right to hold the government accountable.

A warrant like this runs the risk of making individuals feel even more unsafe in an already tense political climate. The fact that the Justice Department is demanding the release of private information for people who just visited an Anti-Trump website is not only absurd, it is terrifying. Undermining the public’s ability to criticize elected officials corrupts the political system as it makes its components less answerable to the individuals they serve. What’s outrageous is not the amount of information they’re asking for, but rather, the type of information from credit cards to simply what each individual saw on the website -simply looking at Anti-Trump posters could jeopardize the life and liberty of millions. What type of political environment is that? One filled with fear and silence? One where the public is afraid to speak out against the government? That sounds like tyranny, and it has no place in American politics.

We should not be afraid of our government, we should feel protected. We should feel like our voices really do matter. We should know that our opinions are being heard. Even if there is evidence supporting the claim that the website facilitated criminal activity, there is a procedure and method in that situation and issuing one warrant that jeopardizes the lives of millions of people is not it.

Playing with the private information of millions is not a means of getting justice, it is a method that disregards fairness and encourages fear.