The Supreme Court must respond to an epidemic of doxing -- exposing private information -- and other types of harassment by officials at the highest levels of American government against certain political voices, contends the American Center for Law and Justice in a friend-of-the-court brief.
ALCJ is siding with Americans for Prosperity Foundation and the Thomas More Law Center in their lawsuit against California's requirement that they reveal their donors.
The state plans to put the names and contact details of the donors online.
In its brief, ACLJ points out the dangers.
"The need for review is intensified by the exponentially increasing incidence of harassment and retaliation against those with disfavored political views," the filing explains. "Since 2010, when this court last considered the constitutionality of disclosure requirements, retaliation and harassment have metastasized to the point that there is a perpetual 'reasonable probability' that those with unpopular political views will become targets if their identities are disclosed."
ACLJ noted in a statement about its brief that "retaliation against those with unpopular political views is on the rise."
"Even some of our nation’s elected leaders promote the harassment of those with conservative political views, ACLJ said.
Doxing "is pervasive and it empowers the harassment of people in their homes and places of employment. Recent examples include Rep. Maxine Waters encouraging retaliation against Trump cabinet officials and Rep. Joaquin Castro’s doxing of Trump donors."
The public disclosure demanded by California "is clearly unconstitutional," the group said.
"The Supreme Court has long held that compelled disclosure of an organization’s donors and members violates the First Amendment right to associate for the purpose of advancing political views. From the founding of our nation, the right to advocate anonymously for one’s political beliefs has been an important First Amendment value."
ACLJ provided examples of abuse of such information, including by the Obama 2012 re-election campaign, which created a website revealing the names of "eight private citizens who had given money to [Mitt Romney], accusing them all of being 'wealthy individuals with less-than-reputable records.'"
"The site even went so far as to 'outright accuse[] 'quite a few' of the men as having been 'on the wrong side of the law' and succeeding at 'the expense of so many Americans,'" the brief explained.
One Romney donor was called a "litigious, combative and a bitter foe of the gay rights movement."
Within weeks, he was targeted by a private investigator, notified of an IRS audit and told by the Department of Labor he was being investigated.
Also targeted by the Obama administration were tea party groups. The IRS "singled out" organizations that had applied for tax-exempt status.
IRS screeners were allowed to approve progressive groups "on the spot," while tea party groups were not.
Then there was the doxing campaign by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.
"If you see anybody from [President Trump's] Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you eat out and you create a crowd," she told supporters. "And you push back on them. And you tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere."
A short time later, several cabinet members were accosted and threatened.
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, posted the names and businesses of 44 donors to President Trump's campaign.
After he heard that those targeted felt "scared" and worried about the safety of their grandchildren, Castro doubled down.
ACLJ said in its brief "the threat to associational rights in this country has never been graver," the filing said.
"Adequate protection of First Amendment associational rights requires [strict scrutiny] ... be applied to all laws that compel disclosure of protected First Amendment associations."