Federal agents entered the name of a friend of Chelsea Manning into a government watchlist database and waited months for him to leave the country for vacation just so they could nab him when he returned to seize his digital devices, according to documents released this week in a lawsuit.

Even though authorities had already questioned David Maurice House after the arrest of former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning (formerly Bradley Manning) in May 2010, House was placed on the watchlist so that authorities could seize his digital media when he returned to the country, under a law that allows warrantless border searches.

The documents indicate House was wanted for questioning in relation to the leak of classified material, even though he had already been questioned. Border agents were ordered to conduct a full secondary screening of him and his bags (.pdf) and to "secure digital media" and "ID all companions" with him.

They also indicate that House was wanted for questioning by the Army Criminal Investigative Division and the U.S. State Department Diplomatic Security Service.

House had met Army Pvt. Chelsea Manning briefly in January 2010 around the time that Manning was preparing to leak the bulk of the documents she sent WikiLeaks. They met at a hackerspace gathering while Manning was on a short leave from the Army. After Manning's arrest the following May, House was part of a group that organized a support network for Manning to raise money for her legal defense.

In November 2010 two agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were waiting for him as he deplaned at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport following a vacation in Mexico with his girlfriend. The agents searched his bags then took him to a detention room to question him. During the interrogation, they questioned him about his political activities and beliefs and his visits to Manning in prison.

The agents confiscated his laptop computer, a thumb drive and a digital camera. ICE held onto the equipment for 49 days – longer than the 30 days allowed in regulations – finally returning it only when the ACLU of Massachusetts intervened on his behalf with a letter.

Under the “border search exception” of United States criminal law, international travelers can be searched without a warrant as they enter the U.S. Under both the Bush and Obama administrations, law enforcement agents have aggressively used this power to search travelers’ laptops, sometimes copying the hard drive before returning the computer to its owner. Courts have ruled that such laptop searches can take place even in the absence of any reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing.

The documents show that an agent with ICE entered House's name into the government TECS database (Treasury Enforcement Communications System) in July 2010. The TECS database is connected to the Advance Passenger Information System, a database of passenger flight manifests.

According to his file, authorities were seeking a second batch of documents that they thought had been given to WikiLeaks but hadn't been published yet.

Agents kept a close watch on passenger flight manifests waiting for House to leave the country so they could nab him when he returned. At some point they received an alert indicating he had booked a flight out of the country and would be returning November 3.

The documents were released as part of a settlement after House sued the government in May 2011 over his detention, but dropped his complaint after the government agreed to delete its copy of the data taken from House's machine and give him any notes agents made about the contents of his hard drive. The DHS also agreed to turn over a copy of any documents and reports produced from the laptop search, including a DHS “Lookout” notice that instructed agents to stop House.

The suit accused the government of violating House's First Amendment right to freedom of association and Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure.

House argued in his suit that the seizure of his digital media was politically motivated and stifled his free-speech rights. He had been a founding member of the Bradley Manning Support Network, where he sat on the steering committee and did fundraising. Data from the Support Network, including donor information, was on the laptop that authorities seized, according to House.

In addition to organizing for Manning, House made frequent visits to the imprisoned Manning, and was the first to bring public attention to Manning's harsh confinement conditions in prison.

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