A Grand Jury Seeks to Unmask a Reddit Critic of ICE
The government failed once in court. Four days later, it came back with a more powerful weapon.
On January 7, 2026, ICE officer Jonathan Ross fatally shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old woman, in Minneapolis. Within days, Ross was publicly identified by The Intercept, which published biographical details about him, and other news organizations followed suit. On Reddit, users discussed the shooting, the officer, and the agency. One of them is now the target of a federal grand jury investigation.
According to a subpoena obtained by The Intercept, federal prosecutors in Washington, DC have demanded that Reddit reveal the identity, address, phone number, and other personal information of a user who posted criticisms of Ross and shared details already reported in news articles. Reddit has until April 14th to comply.
This is the second attempt by the government to unmask the same user. In early March, ICE issued an administrative summons to Reddit under the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930—a nearly century-old law covering customs duties, wild animal imports, forfeited wines and spirits, and cross-border trade in goods. The user denied any involvement with these matters in a sworn declaration and a federal court in Northern California agreed, leading the government to drop the summons on March 27th.
Four days later, they returned with a new demand—this time from a Special Assistant US Attorney in Washington, DC led by Jeanine Pirro, the former Fox News host and judge confirmed to her role in August 2025. The new subpoena moved the proceedings to a different jurisdiction, requested a broader scope of data, and instructed Reddit not to disclose its existence.
Grand jury proceedings are secret and non-adversarial, offering no forum for the target to challenge the demand. Matthew Kellegrew, an attorney at the Civil Liberties Defense Center representing the user, described the escalation as “disturbing,” noting that the First Amendment sets a high bar for government investigations intruding on constitutionally protected rights of speech, press, and association. Will Creeley, legal director at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, was more blunt: "So far, the government hasn’t been able to point to a single Reddit post that’s not protected by the First Amendment."
Reddit reportedly notified the affected user after obtaining the subpoena.