By SNN Newsroom | October 14, 2026
A federal judge in New York has issued a preliminary injunction restricting enforcement of specified U.S. sanctions against American human-rights advocates engaged in speech-related activities involving the International Criminal Court. The order provides limited protection to the plaintiffs while leaving the government’s broader sanctions policy in place.
U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman issued the opinion October 13 in Democracy for the Arab World Now, Inc. v. Trump, Case No. 1:26-cv-05957. The plaintiffs include Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), Taxpayer Alliance Against Genocide (TAAG), and two individuals. They challenged the application of a 2025 executive order imposing restrictions on some services for certain ICC personnel.
The judge found that plaintiffs had shown a likelihood of success on their First Amendment speech claim. The opinion concluded that, as applied to protected expressive activity, the challenged prohibition was content-based and could not survive the required scrutiny. The court restrained federal defendants other than the president from imposing IEEPA civil or criminal penalties against the plaintiffs for the specific conduct addressed in the complaint and opinion.
Limits of the ruling: The court did not strike down the entire executive order, issue a nationwide injunction or prevent every form of ICC-related sanction. The judge declined relief directed personally against the president. The order is preliminary and does not constitute final judgment in the underlying case.
The plaintiffs argue that the sanctions jeopardize their advocacy and communications. The administration has defended the sanctions policy on foreign-policy and national-security grounds. The judge instructed the parties to file a joint letter by October 20 addressing what remains to be litigated and whether a permanent injunction should be considered.
Primary court document: October 13 opinion and preliminary injunction, docket document 40.
