Federal officials repeatedly invoked the "doxing" narrative in an attempt to justify obscuring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Shawn Byers' face during a public court proceeding. The claim, however, was baseless as Byers' identity had been publicly listed on his LinkedIn page.
In October 2025, ICE agents were involved in the shooting of a woman in Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood. Federal officials claimed that immigration agents faced "credible threats" from cartels and gang members, which led to Byers requesting that his face be censored during court proceedings. The judge agreed, but this decision came after Byers revealed he had been doxed – meaning his name was publicly available on the internet.
Upon further review, it became clear that Byers' name was indeed publicly listed on his LinkedIn profile and could easily be found by a simple Google search. In response to Byers' request for anonymity, Judge Sara Ellis stated she felt "slightly foolish" in trying to protect him when he had already been recognized through his online presence.
This incident highlights the government's attempts to use fear and intimidation to suppress journalists and critics who cover immigration enforcement issues. As an author of this piece pointed out, "The notion that naming public officials at the center of major news stories, who very often conceal their identities while carrying out unprecedented law enforcement operations on the streets of our cities, or that simply drawing their faces for the court record is 'doxing' or otherwise improper" is a complete fabrication.
Judges must be held accountable for such decisions and impose significant sanctions on lawyers and witnesses who mislead them. Byers' case demonstrates how the government's anti-transparency objectives can lead to censorship of public records and undermine the constitutional right to freedom of speech.
In order to maintain an open and informed democracy, it is crucial that journalists continue to hold those in power accountable for their actions and report on issues without fear or intimidation. As The Intercept stated, "We need to grow" and expand our reporting capacity to effectively cover these types of incidents in the future.
In October 2025, ICE agents were involved in the shooting of a woman in Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood. Federal officials claimed that immigration agents faced "credible threats" from cartels and gang members, which led to Byers requesting that his face be censored during court proceedings. The judge agreed, but this decision came after Byers revealed he had been doxed – meaning his name was publicly available on the internet.
Upon further review, it became clear that Byers' name was indeed publicly listed on his LinkedIn profile and could easily be found by a simple Google search. In response to Byers' request for anonymity, Judge Sara Ellis stated she felt "slightly foolish" in trying to protect him when he had already been recognized through his online presence.
This incident highlights the government's attempts to use fear and intimidation to suppress journalists and critics who cover immigration enforcement issues. As an author of this piece pointed out, "The notion that naming public officials at the center of major news stories, who very often conceal their identities while carrying out unprecedented law enforcement operations on the streets of our cities, or that simply drawing their faces for the court record is 'doxing' or otherwise improper" is a complete fabrication.
Judges must be held accountable for such decisions and impose significant sanctions on lawyers and witnesses who mislead them. Byers' case demonstrates how the government's anti-transparency objectives can lead to censorship of public records and undermine the constitutional right to freedom of speech.
In order to maintain an open and informed democracy, it is crucial that journalists continue to hold those in power accountable for their actions and report on issues without fear or intimidation. As The Intercept stated, "We need to grow" and expand our reporting capacity to effectively cover these types of incidents in the future.
so like, they were trying to justify hiding ice agent byers' face in court but his name was already out there on linkedin lol like what a waste of time & resources federal officials are always trying to spin stuff to make themselves look good and it's just getting ridiculous
I mean, come on... can't we just be honest with ourselves? If someone's face is gonna be censored because of some made-up 'doxing' narrative, that's not a problem, that's a cop-out 
. And don't even get me started on the fact that Shawn Byers was listed on his LinkedIn page like it was a secret or something... 
It's just another example of how our government is more interested in hiding stuff than being transparent 
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. We can't have our democracy functioning if we're not willing to hold those in power accountable for their actions 
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I mean what even is the point of trying to protect someone who's already basically exposed themselves online? It just feels like another example of the government trying to manipulate public opinion and silence anyone who dares to speak out against their policies 
. And meanwhile we're supposed to be worried about "doxing" but honestly it sounds like they're just making this stuff up as they go along 
. Anyway, I'm all for journalists holding those in power accountable, especially when it comes to transparency and freedom of speech 
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. It's not like judges are getting paid to hide their faces or anything... the gov is just trying to keep things safe for this agent and I'm here for it 
. It's just another example of the government trying to silence people who speak out against their actions and policies. We need more journalists like The Intercept pushing back against this kind of intimidation and censorship 
Google can find it in seconds. 
We need more journalists and advocates like Byers who aren't afraid to speak truth to power! 
The fact that Byers' face was censored in court because he thought it would look bad is just a perfect example of the government trying to hide its tracks and silence critics 
. We can't let our press freedom slip away! 
! They're trying to use Byers' own online presence against him? Come on, he's basically handing them his face on a platter by putting it out there on LinkedIn. And now they're using this as some kind of justification for censoring him in court? It's just ridiculous. What's next, claiming that journalists who report on ICE are "doxing" themselves because they have to research the people they're writing about online? 
. The numbers don't lie: a whopping 92% of online searches for "ICE agent salaries" yield results that are publicly available 
. It's time for judges to get it together and impose sanctions on those who try to hide behind this flawed "doxing" narrative 
. We need more investigative journalism, not less 
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?! they're like using doxing as an excuse to censor agents who are actually being targeted by cartels 
. anyone can find a public figure's info online, even if they list it on LinkedIn 
. this is all about controlling the narrative and silencing critics 
. we need more journalists who aren't afraid to report on these issues without fear of reprisal 
. judges need to step up and hold those in power accountable for their decisions. if we don't speak out against this kind of censorship, who will? 