Criticism of the signal investigation was swift from figures on both the right and the left. The liberal Cato Institute called the investigation an “epic constitutional and legal failure by Patel.”
Whether or not the courts will approve any action taken by Patel against Signal or its users, the circumstances are at the very least extremely unusual: Patel announced the investigation via podcast.
Patel discussed the investigation during Monday’s episode benny showA podcast hosted by right-wing commentator Benny Johnson. Patel alleged without evidence that participants in the chat might have incited violence, threatened law enforcement, or broken the law.
‘Shameful’: Tech leaders react to ICE killing of Alex Pretty
Patel said the investigation led to alleged screenshots of a Signal chat between Minneapolis anti-ICE organizers posted on X by right-wing, self-described independent journalist Cam Higbee.
Higbee has said he expects the government to conduct a “witch hunt” of Signal chat participants who were allegedly sharing information about license plates belonging to cars driven by federal immigration authorities.
“We immediately opened that investigation because that kind of Signal chat was being coordinated with individuals not only locally in Minnesota, but probably across the country,” Patel said. “If it violates federal statute or violates any statute, we’re going to arrest people.”
Signal did not respond to Mashable’s request for comment on the investigation. The app-related X account and its president, Meredith Whitaker, have remained silent on the investigation.
Here’s what you need to know about whether the investigation has merit and how it unfolded:
Does the FBI Signal Chat Investigation Violate Constitutional Rights?
Patel stressed that the investigation would not violate the public’s First Amendment right to political speech and express protest, but would instead focus on illegal activity.
Yet legal and constitutional scholars have questioned whether Signal Chat participants were doing anything illegal.
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in an interview with GuardianFirst Amendment expert Kevin Goldberg said his review of Higbee’s social media posts revealed nothing clearly illegal.
“I understand [Signal chat] The group is organized for purposes that are fully protected by the First Amendment: observing, speaking out and alerting others about potential threats,” said Goldberg, vice president of the Freedom Forum, a non-partisan foundation that works on First Amendment issues. “I haven’t seen anything that would obstruct or obstruct justice. Law enforcement’s claimed ‘doxxing’ is not necessarily illegal.”
Cato Institute Senior Fellow Patrick G. Eddington responded sharply to the Trump administration and Patel.
In an article on the Cato Institute’s website he wrote, “I think it was only a matter of time before a Trump administration official suggested that the use of public key encryption to monitor federal agent misconduct – protected by the First Amendment – was allegedly a crime.” “This is another epic constitutional and legal failure by Patel.”
Eddington said the decade-old federal court case affirmed the First Amendment right of citizens to coordinate peaceful protest activity, and also allowed agency surveillance like ICE to commit “acts of brutality” using encrypted speech.
On Thursday, Higbee accused X of having even more material to leak about the Signal chats it infiltrated.
How did the FBI know about Signal Chat?
When Patel spoke on Johnson’s show, it followed an interview with Higbee, who accused Ax of attempting and succeeding to infiltrate Signal chats, a group of anti-ICE organizers.
Higbee admitted to Johnson that although he is not a “legal expert”, he viewed the signal exchanges as a “collective conspiracy” to violate federal law because in his opinion, the participants “engaged in collusion against federal law enforcement.”
When Johnson asked Higbee what response he wanted from the FBI, Higbee made his goal clear. “I’d like to see a January 6-style witch hunt,” Higbee said, referencing the federal prosecution of insurrectionists who attacked the U.S. Capitol in 2021.
Patel was virtually Johnson’s next guest on the show. He said Higbee’s X post on the alleged intrusion into Signal chat prompted his decision.
“As soon as Higbee put that [X social media] Post that, I started an investigation on this,” Patel said. He argued that this practice is consistent with the FBI’s policy of following up on publicly provided tips, leads, and information.
Speaking with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Patel indicated that the FBI would issue subpoenas, collect data, convene a grand jury and “find out who broke the law.”
What to know about using Signal?
Although Signal uses end-to-end encryption, this does not mean that users’ messages will be safe from the government.
Signal’s website acknowledges that it will disclose chat transcripts if legally compelled by government or law enforcement agencies.
According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, ICE has reportedly signed a contract with digital forensics company Cellebrite to help authorities unlock phones to retrieve all of their data, including apps, location history, and Signal messages.
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