Sean Moorman started tracking ICE activity in his hometown of Springfield, Ohio. Within days, he says agents began following him, swerving toward his car, boxing him in, and driving past his house to photograph it — all because he was recording their actions in public.

A federal judge agreed the pattern was too consistent to ignore. U.S. District Judge Michael J. Newman granted Moorman a temporary restraining order, writing in his order that "almost every interaction Moorman had with ICE officers was promptly followed by a retaliatory act."

Instead of addressing what happened, the government now wants the case thrown out. ICE has quietly transferred six of the seven officers named in Moorman's lawsuit out of Springfield, then argued in court that Moorman no longer has standing to sue because those officers aren't nearby anymore. The agency is also fighting to keep the officers' names secret.

The ACLU of Ohio, which represents Moorman, says this isn't about protecting anyone's safety — it's about avoiding accountability. "It is deeply disappointing to see that the government's response is to try to help these officers evade accountability in court, by shuffling them to other cities and by continuing to shield their identities," according to David Carey, managing legal director of the ACLU of Ohio.

Recording police and federal agents in public is a right that every U.S. appeals court to consider the question — nine so far — has upheld. If ICE can quietly relocate officers to dodge a lawsuit every time someone films them, that right means nothing in practice.

Sign the petition to demand ICE stop moving accused officers instead of holding them accountable — before this tactic becomes the standard response to anyone who watches and records.