Federal Judge Blocks Trump's ICC Sanctions Against Two Advocacy Groups on First Amendment Grounds

US District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan granted a preliminary injunction on Oct. 13 blocking the Trump administration from penalizing two advocacy groups, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) and the Taxpayer Alliance Against Genocide (TAAG), under a February 2025 executive order that sanctions people who assist International Criminal Court investigations the administration says threaten US or allied security.

Furman found the groups likely to succeed on their claim that the order violates their First Amendment rights; both had been gathering information for the ICC's war-crimes investigation tied to Israel's war in Gaza. He stopped short of declaring the order unconstitutional or issuing a nationwide block, and asked the parties to report back before ruling on a permanent injunction.

The State Department declined to comment on the pending litigation, saying it views the ICC as "an intolerable threat to U.S. sovereignty." The administration has separately sanctioned nine ICC judges, its president, chief prosecutor and a UN special rapporteur; DAWN's director said the group would immediately resume its ICC advocacy.