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Twitter

Twitter yanks lawsuit against US government over anti-Trump account

By James Rogers , Fox News
Published | Updated
TwitterALTUSCIS

The logo for the parody immigration Twitter account @alt_uscis, is seen in a screenshot taken April 6, 2017. (@alt_uscis/Handout via Reuters)

Twitter has withdrawn its lawsuit against the U.S government over an attempt to reveal the identities of the users behind the anti-Trump @ALT_USCIS account.

Just a day after launching the legal action, Twitter has pulled the suit against the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, according to court documents filed Friday.

A “rogue” government account, @ALT_USCIS describes its goal as “immigration resistance.” In its initial lawsuit, Twitter said that it received a CBP summons on March 14 demanding records that would “unmask” the people behind @ALT_USCIS.

TWITTER FILES LAWSUIT OVER US GOVERNMENT ATTEMPT TO IDENTIFY USERS BEHIND ANTI-TRUMP ACCOUNT

However, in court documents filed Friday Twitter says that counsel for DHS and CBP from the Department of Justice contacted the company’s lawyers “to advise that U.S. Customs and Border Protection has withdrawn the summons and the summons no longer has any force or effect.”

“Because the summons has now been withdrawn, Twitter voluntary dismisses without prejudice all claims against Defendants in the above-captioned matter,” it added.

Twitter declined to comment on the matter when contacted by Fox News.

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The ACLU, which is representing the @ALT_USCIS user, welcomed the move. “Big victory for free speech and right to dissent,” it tweeted Friday.

In a tweet on Friday afternoon, @ALT_USCIS praised Twitter and the ACLU. “We want to thank @twitter and @aclu for standing up for the right of free anonymous speech,” it tweeted.

The @ALT_USCIS account has racked up over 153,000 followers since it was set up in January 2017. In its description, @ALT_USCIS says that it does not express the views of DHS or the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

CBP declined to comment when contacted by Fox News.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers