Documents Show FBI Accessed Signal Chats of Court‑Watch Activists, Called Them “Anarchist Violent Extremists”

Newly obtained documents indicate federal agents accessed messages in a Signal group used by volunteer observers who monitor federal immigration court proceedings in New York City. The records, supplied by the transparency group Property of the People, show a two‑page situational report quoting conversations from the group and labeling its members “anarchist violent extremist actors.”

The report, dated 28 August 2025 and produced jointly by the FBI and the New York Police Department, was circulated to law enforcement agencies across the country. It quotes material from a Signal chat identified as “courtwatch,” which coordinates volunteers at three New York federal immigration courts—courts that have faced repeated accusations of denying immigrants proper due process.

The memo offered no supporting evidence for the characterization of the court‑watchers as violent extremists. Organizers say their role is to observe public court proceedings and ensure that federal immigration laws and procedures are followed, a purpose that appears inconsistent with the label applied in the report.

How the government obtained access to messages on Signal—an app designed for end‑to‑end encrypted messaging—is not explained in the records. The report states the information came from a “sensitive source with excellent access” and includes a warning about “extremist actors targeting law enforcement officers and federal facilities.”

Agency responses and oversight

Both the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI declined to comment on the report. An NYPD spokesperson told investigators,

“This is not an NYPD document ... This investigation has been reviewed by an external civilian representative exercising oversight pursuant to court order.”

The lack of clarity about the source of the Signal material raises questions about how encrypted communications were accessed and whether proper legal safeguards were observed. Civil‑liberties advocates say the surveillance of people who monitor public court proceedings, especially without publicly disclosed evidence, threatens free‑speech and due‑process protections.

Recent viral videos and eyewitness accounts have documented aggressive federal enforcement tactics at immigration proceedings in New York, including confrontations involving family members and journalists. Critics argue those actions, alongside increased pressure by officials on social platforms to remove unflattering content, reflect an effort to control the narrative around immigration enforcement.

The documents underscore broader tensions between law enforcement priorities and public oversight: when volunteers document court proceedings to protect procedural fairness, surveillance of those volunteers can chill civic monitoring and raise significant legal and ethical concerns.