{"id":2519083,"date":"2025-12-09T07:53:27","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T12:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/man-behind-app-that-helps-illegals-evade-ice-now-suing-bondi-noem-homan-after-apple-took-it-down\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T07:55:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T12:55:46","slug":"man-behind-app-that-helps-illegals-evade-ice-now-suing-bondi-noem-homan-after-apple-took-it-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/man-behind-app-that-helps-illegals-evade-ice-now-suing-bondi-noem-homan-after-apple-took-it-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Man Behind App That Helps Illegals Evade ICE Now Suing Bondi, Noem, Homan After Apple Took it Down"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fman-behind-app-that-helps-illegals-evade-ice-now-suing-bondi-noem-homan-after-apple-took-it-down%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2519083&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Joshua Aaron, the creator of the ICEBlock app, which tracks Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers&#8217; locations, has filed a federal lawsuit against several Trump administration officials. Aaron alleges that his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/states-push-to-rein-in-big-tech-as-federal-gears-grind-slow\/\" title=\"States Push to Rein in Big Tech as Federal Gears Grind Slow\">free speech rights<\/a> were violated when the administration pressured Apple to remove the app from its App Store in October. ICEBlock allowed users to alert others nearby when ICE agents were spotted, leading to controversy as the government argued the app endangered law enforcement officers amid rising threats and attacks. The app gained significant popularity after a CNN profile,growing to over a million users. The lawsuit names officials including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and claims the government unlawfully coerced Apple into censoring Aaron&#8217;s speech. The legal action challenges the unprecedented removal of a U.S.-based app under government pressure.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The man behind a viral app that tracks deportation officers is accusing the Trump administration of violating his free speech rights after Apple removed the app from its store.<\/p>\n<p>Joshua Aaron, the liberal activist who launched ICEBlock earlier this year, filed a lawsuit against several top administration officials in federal court on Monday, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/gov.uscourts.dcd_.287435.1.0_2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">court documents<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Aaron, who has publicly praised Antifa in the past and likened Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to Nazis, is claiming the White House unconstitutionally suppressed his free speech rights when it successfully provoked Apple into removing ICEBlock from its App Store in October.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">&ldquo;This lawsuit challenges these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/outcry-erupts-as-california-prepares-to-release-pillowcase-rapist-who-terrorized-dozens-of-women\/\" title=\"Outcry Erupts as California Prepares to Release &#039;Pillowcase Rapist&#039; Who Terrorized Dozens of Women\">government officials&#038;rsquo<\/a>; unconstitutional threats and demands against Apple, which pressured it to remove the ICEBlock app from the App Store,&rdquo; the lawsuit said. &ldquo;In particular, Attorney General Bondi&rsquo;s coercion of Apple has censored Aaron and ALL U Chart, Inc., which owns ICEBlock&rsquo;s intellectual property, by making ICEBlock &mdash; their speech &mdash; unavailable to the public.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">&ldquo;For what appears to be the first time in Apple&rsquo;s nearly fifty-year history, Apple removed a U.S.-based app in response to the U.S. government&rsquo;s demands,&rdquo; the lawsuit continued.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Aaron&rsquo;s lawsuit targets Attorney General Pam Bondi, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Border Czar Tom Homan, and other top federal officials, according to court documents. The legal challenge was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.<\/p>\n<p>ICEBlock is a crowdsourced app that alerts users when ICE agents or other federal immigration authorities are spotted within a five-mile radius. Anyone on the app can ping others nearby if they see immigration agents and list other identifying details, such as what the officers are wearing and what car they&rsquo;re driving, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >ostensibly allowing illegal aliens nearby<\/a> to avoid apprehension.<\/p>\n<p>The app received an incredible rise in popularity following a CNN profile over the summer, growing from 20,000 users in June to more than one million users by the beginning of October, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The Trump administration adamantly opposed the app at the time, noting that threats and attacks against ICE agents were at an all-time high and apps such as ICEBlock only served to put agents at risk.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Advertising an app that basically paints a target on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/border-czar-tom-homan-calls-for-doj-investigation-into-cnn-over-ice-tracking-app-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Border czar Tom Homan calls for DOJ investigation into CNN over ...-tracking ... - Washington Examiner\">federal law enforcement officers&#038;rsquo<\/a>; backs is sickening,&rdquo; Lyons <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ice.gov\/news\/releases\/statement-ice-acting-director-todd-m-lyons-news-coverage-ice-spotting-app\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> in June, ripping CNN for airing the segment. &ldquo;My officers and agents are already facing a 500% increase in assaults, and going on live television to announce an app that lets anyone zero in on their locations is like inviting violence against them with a national megaphone.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Such dire warnings appeared to reach fruition after a deadly shooting at an ICE facility several months later.<\/p>\n<p>29-year-old Joshua Jahn fired multiple rounds from a Dallas rooftop on Sept. 24, with the purported intention of hitting ICE agents who were nearby and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/alert-ultra-violent-latin-kings-street-gang-issues-shoot-on-sight-orders-for-any-ice-dhs-or-other-federal-agents-involved-in-operation-midway-blitz\/\" title=\"Alert: Ultra Violent Latin Kings Street Gang Issues &#039;Shoot on Sight&#039; Orders for Any ..., DHS, or Other Federal ... Involved in Operation Midway Blitz\">conducting enforcement activities<\/a>, but ended up shooting three detainees before taking his own life. FBI Director Kash Patel later revealed that Jahn allegedly downloaded a document listing the location of Department of Homeland Security facilities and searched for apps that tracked immigration agents, but didn&rsquo;t specify which apps Jahn allegedly used.<\/p>\n<p>By October, the Department of Justice confirmed that Apple had removed the app from its store.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store &mdash; and Apple did so,&rdquo; Bondi said in a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation at the time. &ldquo;ICEBlock is designed to put ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs, and violence against law enforcement is an intolerable red line that cannot be crossed.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Aaron identifies himself as a supporter of Black Lives Matter, a movement long plagued with allegations of financial mismanagement, and as a &ldquo;Proud #Antifa&rdquo; supporter on his <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/joshua.stealingheather.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-mrf-link=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/joshua.stealingheather.com\">Bluesky account<\/a>. A review of his X account also identified repeated instances in which he praised and defended Antifa.<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p><em>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter&rsquo;s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The creator of a popular app that monitors deportation officers is accusing the Trump administration of infringing on his free speech rights after Apple took the app down from its store. Joshua Aaron, a liberal activist who introduced ICEBlock earlier this year, filed a lawsuit in federal court on Monday against several high-ranking administration officials, according to court records<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2519084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2025-12-08T175847.163.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[68476,8364,3813,4585,32779],"class_list":["post-2519083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-app-controversy","tag-ice","tag-immigration","tag-lawsuit","tag-legal-issues"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2025-12-08T175847.163.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2519083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2519083"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2519083\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2519087,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2519083\/revisions\/2519087"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2519084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2519083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2519083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2519083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}