FBI Spied On NYC Courtwatchers' Signal Chat As ICE Courthouse Arrests Surge

Records show the FBI accessed a private Signal group used by NYC immigration courtwatch volunteers and shared a joint FBI–NYPD memo labeling participants "anarchist violent extremist actors." The memo quoted chats about observing hearings and documenting officers but did not explain how the encrypted messages were obtained or provide evidence of violence. The disclosure comes amid an uptick in ICE courthouse arrests, drawing civil liberties concerns that lawful observers are being surveilled as enforcement expands.