Overview
- FBI Director Kash Patel said he opened an investigation after influencer Cam Higby posted alleged screenshots from a Minneapolis Signal group and urged a government 'witch hunt'.
- Patel, who announced the move on a podcast, said the bureau could issue subpoenas, gather data, convene grand juries, and make arrests if statutory violations are found.
- First Amendment experts, including Jane Kirtley and Kevin Goldberg, and groups like FIRE argue that sharing observations and agent locations is protected speech absent evidence of intent to incite imminent unlawful action.
- The libertarian Cato Institute and other civil-liberties voices call the probe legally weak and warn that publicizing it risks chilling lawful protest and monitoring activity.
- Signal’s end-to-end encryption limits access to message content, so investigators would likely need device access or forensic tools to obtain chats, and the company did not comment on the inquiry.