Judge allows challenge to terrorist watchlist to move ahead

(AP) A federal judge in Maryland is allowing dozens of Muslim plaintiffs to move ahead with a lawsuit against Attorney General William Barr and other federal officials challenging the constitutionality of the government’s watchlist of people identified as “known or suspected terrorists.”

Government lawyers had asked U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Greenbelt to toss out the lawsuit. But in a 65-page ruling issued Monday, she allowed it to proceed.

It was not a total victory for the plaintiffs, though: The judge did toss out some parts of the case, including claims that the watchlist interfered with First Amendment rights to free assembly, as well as a claim that the watchlist is used to unfairly pressure Muslims into becoming FBI informants.

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