HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle
Expand

Postal Service Caught Seizing Packages Without Warrant

Views:886
@IJvids

In the spring of 2020, law enforcement agents working for the United States Postal Service violated that fundamental constitutional guarantee when they baselessly stopped, seized, and searched a set of four ordinary boxes containing thousands of Covid-19 face masks.

https://ij.org/case/oakland-mail-seizure/

The masks belonged to René Quiñonez, who operates Oakland-based Movement Ink LLC, a small, family-run, social justice-focused screen-printing company. Following the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, organizers hired Movement Ink to rapidly print as many face masks as possible to distribute to protestors marching across the country. René, his family, employees, and friends worked night and day to hand-print each mask with political messages like “Stop Killing Black People.” When they finished, René packed the masks in ordinary brown boxes and shipped them overnight to organizers in Brooklyn, D.C., Minneapolis, and St. Louis.

But they didn’t arrive.

Instead, he and his clients were greeted by a disturbing “Alert” on the Postal Service website: “Seized by Law Enforcement.” René panicked. After all, he hadn’t done anything wrong. He knew face masks were not illegal; in fact, at the time, they were required by law.

After René contacted his Congresswoman and went to the press, the real story came out. Claiming the completely ordinary boxes were somehow suspicious, the agents seized and searched them without ever getting a warrant, let alone having the probable cause necessary to obtain one.

As a result of this unconstitutional conduct, the masks arrived at their destinations multiple days (and several protests) late. This cast a pall of suspicion over René and Movement Ink. Some of René’s longstanding clients dropped him, and the organizers backed out of plans for future recurring apparel orders. To this day, Movement Ink is struggling to recover from these blows to its reputation and business. And René remains distraught at the unjust cloud of suspicion law enforcement hung over him, tarnishing his reputation and his efforts to align his business with his activism.

But René is not one to take an assault on his constitutional rights lying down. On June 2, 2022, René and Movement Ink partnered with the Institute for Justice (IJ) to file a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of California to hold the officers who baselessly seized and searched his mail accountable for violating his rights.
Donate to IJ: https://ij.org/support/give-now/

ij
,
institute for justice
,
freedom
,
liberty
,
individual rights
,
constitution
,
constitutional law
,
unconstitutional law
,
con law
,
constitutional litigation
    Thumbnail for Press Conference for Opternative, Inc v. South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners4:31
    Press Conference for Opternative, Inc v. South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners
    IJvids
    963 views
    Thumbnail for High School Boys Are Trending Conservative1:19
    High School Boys Are Trending Conservative
    bestofupgoat
    404 views
    Thumbnail for Rune Chat #107 | Space is Flat the Earth is Fake1:26:08
    Rune Chat #107 | Space is Flat the Earth is Fake
    RuneChat
    592 views
    Thumbnail for Is Hawaii's Anti-GMO Movement Really Just Anti-Science?9:09
    Is Hawaii's Anti-GMO Movement Really Just Anti-Science?
    ReasonVids
    880 views
    Thumbnail for CDC: The Movie (COVID parody)2:36
    CDC: The Movie (COVID parody)
    ReasonVids
    932 views
    Thumbnail for dIvErSiTy iS oUr StReNgTh!!!12:23
    dIvErSiTy iS oUr StReNgTh!!!
    bestofsaidit
    707 views
    Thumbnail for IJ's Jeanette Petersen Explains Three Reasons You Can't Get a Cab1:40
    IJ's Jeanette Petersen Explains Three Reasons You Can't Get a Cab
    IJvids
    858 views
    Thumbnail for Gilbert Gottfried Holocaust Joke - Roast of David Hasselhoff | JMJLM0:24
    Gilbert Gottfried Holocaust Joke - Roast of David Hasselhoff | JMJLM
    invidious
    334 views
    Thumbnail for The Tragic Fall Of µTorrent | NationSquid24:42
    The Tragic Fall Of µTorrent | NationSquid
    invidious
    136 views
    Thumbnail for Concept: The Wasp Room A humane form of punishment *empty room filled with 20,000-30,000 wasps | FunnyMemeSpot0:19
    Concept: The Wasp Room A humane form of punishment *empty room filled with 20,000-30,000 wasps | FunnyMemeSpot
    invidious
    78 views
    Thumbnail for RFK Jr Deconstructs BBC Journalist’s Illogical Arguments For Pro-Vaccine Narrative4:13
    RFK Jr Deconstructs BBC Journalist’s Illogical Arguments For Pro-Vaccine Narrative
    bestofupgoat
    497 views
    Thumbnail for Footage from "Death Camps"1:12
    Footage from "Death Camps"
    AOUisgay
    536 views
    Thumbnail for Stossel: Bernie’s Digital Media Empire5:47
    Stossel: Bernie’s Digital Media Empire
    ReasonVids
    910 views
    Thumbnail for Can We Throw Satellites to Space? - SpinLaunch ~ Real Engineering42:13
    Can We Throw Satellites to Space? - SpinLaunch ~ Real Engineering
    bestofsaidit
    734 views
    Thumbnail for ZADRUGA UZIVO  ELITA 7  🔥🔥 KLIPOVI OD 24:00h  🔥🔥 | Arma1:00
    ZADRUGA UZIVO ELITA 7 🔥🔥 KLIPOVI OD 24:00h 🔥🔥 | Arma
    invidious
    289 views
    Thumbnail for When the ancestral memories kick in0:08
    When the ancestral memories kick in
    bestofupgoat
    79 views
    Thumbnail for Chris "Jesus" Ferguson Cutting Carrots at Reason0:53
    Chris "Jesus" Ferguson Cutting Carrots at Reason
    ReasonVids
    1078 views
    Thumbnail for What Uber (and Taxi) Drivers Think About the Politics of Ride Sharing10:05
    What Uber (and Taxi) Drivers Think About the Politics of Ride Sharing
    ReasonVids
    925 views
    Thumbnail for ఈ రోజు మేము 🤤 మిర్చి బజ్జీ చేసుకునం 🥰weather చల్లగావుంది కాబట్టి…? #cooking #foodlover #family | U Turns Creations0:59
    ఈ రోజు మేము 🤤 మిర్చి బజ్జీ చేసుకునం 🥰weather చల్లగావుంది కాబట్టి…? #cooking #foodlover #family | U Turns Creations
    invidious
    69 views
    Thumbnail for The Real Jackpot? Self-Control 💰 | ACP Musician1:00
    The Real Jackpot? Self-Control 💰 | ACP Musician
    invidious
    27 views
    Thumbnail for LIVE🔴 Bebefinn Best Nursery Rhymes | Rise and Shine ☀️ Morning Song and Rain Rain Go Away +more | Bebefinn - Nursery Rhymes & Kids Songs1:00
    LIVE🔴 Bebefinn Best Nursery Rhymes | Rise and Shine ☀️ Morning Song and Rain Rain Go Away +more | Bebefinn - Nursery Rhymes & Kids Songs
    invidious
    334 views

points

Permalink
Reply
ij
,
institute for justice
,
freedom
,
liberty
,
individual rights
,
constitution
,
constitutional law
,
unconstitutional law
,
con law
,
constitutional litigation
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle