(AP) A federal judge says he will rule in the near future on the constitutionality of a government watchlist that includes more than 1 million people the FBI considers to be “known or suspected terrorists.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations sued in 2016 to challenge the watchlist on behalf of Muslim Americans who say they were wrongly placed on it and suffered negative consequences as a result.
The plaintiffs argued Thursday at a hearing in Alexandria that the list is disseminated so broadly that those listed face not only travel woes at airports and border crossings but also difficulty completing financial transactions and interacting with police. They also say the standard for inclusion is overbroad and innocent Muslims are routinely listed by mistake.
