Feds demand 1.3 million IP addresses of those who visited Trump protest site

Enlarge / Police and demonstrators stand off in downtown Washington following the inauguration of President Donald Trump on January 20, 2017 in Washington, DC. More than 200 people were indicted on rioting-related charges. An investigation continues. (credit: Stephen J. Boitano/Getty Images)

The Justice Department is seeking the 1.3 million IP addresses that visited a Trump resistance site. The search warrant is part of an investigation into Inauguration Day rioting, which has already resulted in the indictment of 200 people in the District of Columbia. DreamHost, the Web host of the disruptj20.org site that helped organize the January 20 protests, is challenging the warrant it was served as being an "unfocused search" and declared that it was a "clear abuse of government authority."

A hearing on the dispute is set for Friday in Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

"The request from the DOJ demands that DreamHost hand over 1.3 million visitor IP addresses-in addition to contact information, e-mail content, and photos of thousands of people-in an effort to determine who simply visited the website," DreamHost said in a blog post. "That information could be used to identify any individuals who used this site to exercise and express political speech protected under the Constitution's First Amendment. That should be enough to set alarm bells off in anyone's mind."

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