Lawsuit challenges Trump's ICC sanctions as violating US citizens' rights

A new legal challenge has been filed against the sanctions imposed by former US President Donald Trump's administration on the International Criminal Court (ICC), alleging they violate the constitutional rights of US citizens.

The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday by the Washington, DC-based rights group DAWN and the Taxpayers Alliance Against Genocide (TAAG). It specifically targets sanctions that began in February 2025 in response to ICC arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Trump's executive order imposed penalties on ICC officials involved in investigations related to the US and its allies, particularly Israel, as well as organizations or individuals supporting those investigations. Since then, the administration has sanctioned ICC prosecutors and judges, several Palestinian organizations that provided evidence to the court, and UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.

The groups argue the sanctions violate Americans' constitutional right to engage in Palestine-related human rights advocacy, including limiting what they can say to an international tribunal or to foreign advocates, and restricting their ability to associate with sanctioned parties. The lawsuit also claims the actions violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977, which bars the president from using sanctions to restrict personal communications or the transmission of information.

The filing comes days after the Trump administration pledged to escalate its campaign against the ICC, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio promising a "whole-of-government response" aimed at "dismantling" the court. The US is not a signatory to the Rome Statute and does not recognize ICC jurisdiction over its citizens, but the court maintains it can investigate US nationals for crimes committed on the territory of member states.

This is the latest in a series of legal challenges to the sanctions. A federal judge in New York previously sided with two law professors who argued the sanctions stifled their First Amendment rights. Sanctions on Albanese were briefly lifted in May but reinstated on appeal. Sanctioned ICC judges have also filed a lawsuit.