Plaintiffs Kassandra Rosado and Kreisau Group LLC operate platforms for sharing information on ICE activity. Rosado runs the "ICE Sightings – Chicagoland" Facebook group, and Kreisau Group runs the "Eyes Up" phone application. Both tools allow users to post videos and data regarding ICE operations.
The dispute centers on the removal of these platforms in October 2025. Facebook disabled the Chicagoland group shortly after Attorney General Pamela Bondi and then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem posted on social media that the Department of Justice had contacted the company to remove it.
Apple removed the "Eyes Up" app and others after Bondi publicly stated that the DOJ had demanded its removal from the App Store. Apple cited guideline 1.1.1, which prohibits defamatory or mean-spirited content, despite having previously reviewed and approved the app in August 2025.
Judge Alonso held that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their claim that the government coerced private actors. The court noted that Bondi and Noem demanded rather than requested removals and intimated that platforms could face prosecution if they did not comply.
The court held that these actions constituted a threat of adverse government action sufficient to support a First Amendment coercion claim. The judge cited NRA v. Vullo for the principle that government officials cannot coerce private parties to suppress disfavored views.
Alonso ruled that the loss of First Amendment freedoms constitutes irreparable harm and that an injunction is in the public interest. The court waived the bond requirement for the preliminary injunction.
The judge ordered the parties to file a joint status report by April 22, 2026, and to provide a draft of the preliminary injunction order.