The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation and is demanding records regarding NYC Indymedia posts that list the names of Republican delegates and urge protesters to "unwelcome" them to New York City. Federal prosecutors said in a grand jury subpoena that the information was needed as part of a Secret Service investigation into possible "voter intimidation."

It appears the FBI and Secret Service are once again engaging in a fishing expedition to route out dissenting viewpoints, harass people exercising their free speech rights, and intimidate others from exercising their right to protest the Republican National Convention. "We can't see any legitimate purpose behind this investigation, and it looks to us like another attempt to repress legitimate political dissent," says Ann Beeson, associate legal director for the ACLU, which is representing Calyx, an internet service provider for NYC Indymedia.

Aside from on the Indymedia website, the information on RNC delegates can also be found in the RNC's official media guide packet, on various state Republican Party websites, and through a variety of media sources.

The ACLU says it plans to hand over to federal officials on Monday the subpoenaed information on Calyx's contacts at Indymedia, but is unable to reveal who posted the delegates' names, because Indymedia does not log identifying information of its contributors. Report on global Indymedia