A US district judge has approved the requests of anonymous federal employees in multiple cases against the Trump administration to proceed under pseudonyms to safeguard themselves from potential public harassment and threats. Chief Judge James Boasberg of DC’s federal trial court granted the requests on Tuesday, citing concerns raised by the employees' lawyers about safety risks they faced by litigating against the Trump administration.
The cases involve FBI employees suing over the Justice Department's collection of information from them regarding their work on Trump investigations, alleging an attempt to purge those involved in those cases. The employees have faced online doxxing and violent attacks due to their involvement in investigations related to President Trump, as highlighted in court filings.
Boasberg's decision was also influenced by the efforts of January 6 rioters, some of whom were pardoned by Trump, to expose the identities of FBI agents working on these cases. The judge emphasized that the safety concerns raised were significant enough to warrant pseudonymity for the plaintiffs.
In the FBI cases, the plaintiffs' names will be shared confidentially with the Justice Department. However, in a case against the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the employees will be allowed to withhold their identities from the government defendants to prevent potential professional repercussions if their identities were revealed.
The cases will now be assigned to judges who will oversee the proceedings going forward. Boasberg noted that the assigned judges have the authority to review his decisions on anonymity as the cases progress.
