Judge blocks US sanctions on rights groups helping ICC Gaza war crimes inquiry

US federal judge issues preliminary injunction blocking Trump administration from sanctioning two US-based human rights groups, Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn) and Taxpayer Alliance Against Genocide (Taag), for their work supporting the international criminal court's (ICC) Gaza war crimes investigation. Judge Jesse M. Furman granted the injunction in a 30-page order, finding that the 2025 executive order imposing sanctions likely violates the groups' First Amendment rights.

Dawn and Taag had sued the administration this summer, challenging the order imposed by the Trump administration in February 2025. The order threatened sanctions against individuals involved in investigations that could threaten US or ally national security, including those related to the ICC's arrest warrants for Israeli officials Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant.

The judge noted a similar lawsuit brought last year by law professors, who argued the 2025 order violated the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights due to its content-based regulation of their speech activities. While the judge stopped short of declaring the order facially unconstitutional, he found that the groups' challenge raised "substantially similar" arguments as in prior cases.

Dawn and Taag, which have worked to gather information for the ICC's investigation into war crimes in Gaza, praised the ruling as a victory for the First Amendment and an important step in dismantling the ICC sanctions regime.