Pursuant to a license and other authorization from the State Department, Defense Distributed published Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Computer-Numeric Control (CNC) files on its Internet servers in furtherance of its mission to promote firearms knowledge and possession. As a result, Former New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and Former Los Angeles City Attorney Michael Feuer proceeded to wage an ideologically-fueled program of intimidation and harassment against Defense Distributed through the legal system.
The Defendants’ threatened legal actions violate the First Amendment speech rights of Defense Distributed and its audience, including SAF’s members; run afoul of the Dormant Commerce Clause; infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of those who would make use of the knowledge disseminated by Defense Distributed; constitute a tortious interference with Defense Distributed’s business; and are in any event, federally pre-empted by Congress’s export control laws as well as Defense Distributed’s export license, by which the State Department has explicitly authorized the speech that the Defendants are seeking to silence.
On July 29, 2018, the Second Amendment Foundation along with Defense Distributed filed suit, alleging a series of constitutional and statutory violations, including that Defendants’ policies and practices violated Plaintiffs’ First and Second Amendment rights under the United States Constitution. The Complaint requests the Court provide declaratory and injunctive relief enjoining Defendants from their ongoing policies and practices in violation of Plaintiffs’ constitutional rights.
Case Team: Daniel Schmutter, Joshua Blackman
Case Documents
To access all of the case documents at the District Court, please visit the docket.
To view documents filed on appeal, please visit the Court of Appeals docket.
Case Media