RCFP Statement on FBI's Newly Unsealed Justification for Seizing Reporter's Electronic Devices

FBI Spied On Reporter Prior To Raiding Their Home

The FBI spied on Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson prior to raiding her home in Virginia. The bureau also obtained search warrants that allowed agents to force Natanson to unlock her devices if they were biometrically secured and depicted her as a reporter involved in a criminal conspiracy.On January 14, the FBI seized Natanson’s work laptop, personal laptop, iPhone, a terabyte hard drive, and Garmin running watch. The search warrants ind…

RCFP statement on FBI's newly unsealed justification for seizing reporter's electronic devices

On Friday night, a federal court in Virginia unsealed a redacted version of the search warrant affidavit that provides the FBI’s sworn statement justifying its request to search the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson. In the search, the government seized two laptops, Natanson’s phone, a voice recorder, and other electronic devices.  The material seized holds a vast amount of Natanson’s work and other sensitive newsgathering informa…

Court docs: the US DOJ failed to tell a judge about a 1980 law protecting journalists when it sought to seize WaPo reporter Hannah Natanson's devices last month

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U.S. Failed to Alert Judge to Press Law in Application to Search Reporter's Home

WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department failed to tell a magistrate judge about a 1980 law protecting journalists in its application materials for a warrant to search a Washington Post reporter's home last month as part of a leak investigation, an…