Two pro-Palestine groups
filed a lawsuit Wednesday that takes aim at U.S. sanctions against international human rights groups linked to efforts to hold Israel accountable for war crimes.
The lawsuit, filed in a New York federal court by Democracy for the Arab World Now, or DAWN, and Taxpayer Alliance Against Genocide, seeks to reverse sanctions brought under Executive Order 14203.
The order, which President Donald Trump made in February 2025, grants the administration power to issue penalties against any person or group seeking to bring a case against the U.S. or its allies — namely Israel — before the International Criminal Court.
The plaintiffs, both of whom coordinate with international NGOs in an effort to hold the U.S. and Israel accountable for war crimes, are seeking a declaration that the ICC sanctions are in violation of their First Amendment rights because they create obstacles to free association. The lawsuit also asks for an injunction barring the Trump administration from using sanctions to stymie free speech.
Trump’s assault on the ICC — most recently including a vow to “dismantle” the court — has focused mostly on efforts to hold Israel accountable for war crimes. In November 2024, the court
issued arrest warrants
for Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu
, another Israeli official, and an official with the armed Palestinian group Hamas for activities during the time period of
Israel’s genocide in Gaza
.
The White House executive order came down shortly after the arrest warrants were issued.
The rights groups’ lawsuit specifically highlights sanctions against
Francesca Albanese
, the U.N. official tasked with probing human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories, and
three Palestinian nongovernmental organizations
. According to the plaintiffs, the sanctions impinge on their First Amendment rights by preventing them from engaging in protected speech activities with Albanese and the NGOs.
“The Trump administ
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