Trump demands social-media platforms turn over lists of political dissidents

Two-party system has all but shredded First Amendment, which protects rights of all Americans to speak out against their government without fear of censorship or political retribution

Remember how Donald Trump prattled on about the evils of the Biden administration censoring Americans’ online activity and how he was going to restore free speech?

He said he was going to make the internet free again for conservatives to express their views and opinions without fear of being censored or shadow banned like they were under Biden.

That now seems like a distant memory. While X and Meta have marginally eased their censorship of conservative voices, the administration is taking a note from the Biden playbook and pressuring them to crack down on those who speak out against Trump policies.

Like Biden before him, Trump apparently thinks the First Amendment only applies to those who support him politically.

This week we found out that the Trump administration is working quietly behind the scenes to force online social-media platforms to turn over lists of people who post content critical of Trump.

The news outlet TechCrunch reports that in several cases over recent months, Homeland Security has issued “administrative subpoenas” to seek personally identifiable information about Americans who post on anonymous Instagram accounts.

They are particularly eager to know about folks who share information online about ICE immigration raids in their local neighborhoods. These subpoenas have also been used to demand information about people who have criticized Trump officials or protested any government policy. That would include people voicing disappointment over the administration’s turn on gun control, with Trump, FBI Director Kash Patel, AG Pam Bondi and several of his people voicing support for tighter control over Americans’ right to carry in certain public spaces.

Below is an excerpt from the TechCrunch report:

Unlike judicial subpoenas, which are approved by a judge after seeing enough evidence of a crime to authorize a search or seizure of someone’s things, administrative subpoenas are issued by federal agencies, allowing investigators to seek a wealth of information about individuals from tech and phone companies without a judge’s oversight.

While administrative subpoenas cannot be used to obtain the contents of a person’s emails, online searches, or location data, they can demand information specifically about the user, such as what time a user logs in, from where, using which devices, and revealing the email addresses and other identifiable information about who opened an online account. But because administrative subpoenas are not backed by a judge’s authority or a court’s order, it’s largely up to a company whether to give over any data to the requesting government agency.

Administrative subpoenas are not new; the use of these self-signed demands by Trump officials to seek identifiable information about people who are critical of the president’s policies has raised alarm.

Bloomberg reported last week that Homeland Security sought the identity of an anonymous Instagram account called @montocowatch, which says its goal is to share resources to help protect immigrant rights and due process across Montgomery County in Pennsylvania. This comes amid an ongoing federal immigration crackdown across the United States, which has drawn widespread protests and condemnation. Homeland Security lawyers sent an administrative subpoena to Meta demanding it turn over personal information of the person who runs the account, citing a non-Homeland Security employee who claimed to receive a tip that ICE agents were being stalked.

Of course, there is nothing illegal about recording police, sharing videos, and posting them anonymously. This is all protected under the First Amendment, regardless of one’s political pursuasion.

TechCrunch notes that Homeland Security withdrew its subpoena without providing an explanation, which indicates it was simply trying to intimidate people into silence.

Remember, Trump also helped arrange the deal in which an investment group headed by his friend, technocrat Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, took a controlling stake last year in TikTok. And now we are hearing reports that more censorship is happening on TikTok than under its previous Chinese owners.

Even as Trump is clamping down on free speech online, his administration is buying up warehouses under the guise of “immigration detention centers,” which I reported on in my article yesterday.

Since that article was posted, Trump has stated in an interview with NBC News that he is softening his policy on illegal aliens. He’s only going to go after the violent criminals and he’s only going to send ICE into cities where they are invited by state and local governments. This just adds further fuel to the speculation that the warehouses are not being purchased to house illegals, but rather to incarcerate American citizens who the administration considers to be political enemies.

Trump has made it perfectly clear where he stands when it comes to treatment of his enemies.

At the Charlie Kirk memorial last September, he took the podium and rebuked the Chrisian principle of loving one’s enemies or having mercy on them. No, Trump said he “hates” his enemies and wants to see them crushed.

“That’s where I disagreed with Charlie,” Trump said. “I hate my opponent and I don’t want the best for them. I’m sorry.”

More recently, Trump, while addressing a group of CEOs at the World Economic Forum conference last month in Davos, said “sometimes you need a dictator,” and suggested that he was willing to play that role if necessary.

Just days later he said he does not believe his actions can be restrained by anything outside of his himself, not international law, not domestic law, not the U.S. Constitution. His only constraints are his own “morality” and his “own mind,” he said.

All we need to do is listen to what the man is telling us and we will understand where he wants to take the country.

But instead of taking Trump at his word, his supporters prefer to come up with lame excuses to justify his lawless behavior.

Trump appears to be on a power trip, the likes of which has not been seen in any world leader in decades. I expect he will continue to push the envelope until he pushes one step too far and runs into a brick wall. That wall could be a foreign power or coalition of foreign powers that make an aggressive move against the United States of America. The pressure on Russia and China to make such a move has been growing under Donald Trump and 2026 could be the year they finally throw down the gauntlet.

The next three years will be very interesting and will require much prayer and discernment in order to avoid being deceived.

As an independent journalist specializing in globalism, religion, technocracy and world affairs, Leo Hohmann depends solely readers for support. He gets no government handouts, corporate ads or sponsorships. If you appreciate these updates and wish to support the site, you may send a donation of any size c/o Leo Hohmann, PO Box 291, Newnan, GA 30264, or donate via credit card below.