A US judge has blocked US authorities from detaining or deporting a British anti-disinformation campaigner who is among five European nationals targeted by the Trump administration because of moves to push back against hate speech and misinformation.
Imran Ahmed, the chief executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), filed a complaint on Thursday against senior Trump allies including the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the attorney general, Pam Bondi, in an attempt to prevent what he says would be an unconstitutional arrest and removal.
Ahmed, who is a friend of Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, lives lawfully in Washington DC with his American wife and daughter.
According to the BBC and other reports, court documents released on Thursday said Vernon S Broderick, a judge in the southern district of New York, had granted Ahmed’s request for a temporary restraining order over any moves to remove him from the US, and blocked officials from detaining him before his case could be heard.
The CCDH has previously incurred the wrath of Elon Musk, the owner of X, over reports chronicling the rise of racist, antisemitic and extremist content on the platform since he took it over. Musk tried unsuccessfully to sue the CCDH last year before calling it a “criminal organisation”.
Ahmed is one of five Europeans targeted by the US state department in the past week. They have been accused of leading efforts to put pressure on technology firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints.
Rubio accused the five, who also include the former EU commissioner Thierry Breton, of leading “organised efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetise and suppress American viewpoints they oppose”.
Sarah Rogers, an official at the state department, posted on X: “Our message is clear: if you spend your career fomenting censorship of American speech, you’re unwelcome on American soil.”
The sanctions are being seen as the latest attack on European regulations that target hate speech and misinformation. Campaigners in the UK have said the British government could be targeted further if the Trump administration steps up its attacks on tech regulation.
In a statement, Ahmed said: “My life’s work is to protect children from the dangers of unregulated social media and AI and fight the spread of antisemitism online. That mission has pitted me against big tech executives – and Elon Musk in particular – multiple times.
“I am proud to call the United States my home. My wife and daughter are American, and instead of spending Christmas with them, I am fighting to prevent my unlawful deportation from my home country.”
Roberta Kaplan, Ahmed’s legal counsel, said: “The state department’s actions here are unjustified and blatantly unconstitutional.”
Ahmed was targeted alongside Clare Melford, who is based in the UK and runs the Global Disinformation Index (GDI). Musk has also called for the GDI to be shut down over its criticism of rightwing websites for spreading disinformation.
A British government spokesperson said: “While every country has the right to set its own visa rules, we support the laws and institutions which are working to keep the internet free from the most harmful content.”
