ICE Subpoena Demands REI Customer Purchase Records Tied to Minnesota Church Protest
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents have issued a subpoena to outdoor retailer REI demanding customer purchase records linked to a specific green beanie, according to reporting by Wired. The subpoena seeks data on anyone who bought the item from REI within the last two years.
The request is reportedly connected to an investigation into protesters who entered a Minnesota church in March. Civil liberties advocates have criticized the subpoena as an overreach, noting that targeting a specific clothing item amounts to a dragnet search that could sweep up information on thousands of uninvolved customers.
Privacy concerns have been raised about the scope of the data request. Rather than seeking information on specific suspects, the subpoena appears to use merchandise purchased by a potentially large number of customers as a starting point for identifying individuals. REI has not publicly commented on whether it plans to challenge or comply with the subpoena.
The case highlights ongoing tensions between law enforcement investigative tactics and digital privacy rights, particularly regarding the use of commercial data to identify individuals connected to protests or other lawful activities.