A lawsuit filed by two US-based advocacy groups argues that the Trump administration is stifling free speech through sanctions it imposed last year against the International Criminal Court (ICC) and Palestinian human rights groups.

The groups are challenging an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that imposed sanctions on ICC judges, prosecutors and groups seeking a ruling against Israel over allegations of human rights violations.

Representatives of the groups argue that Trump’s order is being used to “illegally surveil the political expression of millions of Americans” and stifle advocacy for Palestinians.

The White House did not respond to an email from the BBC seeking comment.

Democracy in the Arab World Now (Dawn) and Taxpayer Alliance Against Genocide (Taag) are challenging the restrictions in federal court in New York. Washington has previously defended the sanctions as necessary to combat “illegitimate and baseless actions against the United States and our close ally Israel.”

The sanctions are used “not only to punish human rights defenders but also to control the political expression of millions of Americans,” said Dawn CEO Omar Shakir.

Trump’s executive order issued in February 2025 imposed financial and visa restrictions on people assisting in ICC investigations of U.S. citizens or U.S. allies, and their families.

Washington has said the order would punish ICC judges and Palestinian non-governmental organizations that had asked the court to investigate allegations that Israel has committed war crimes in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, which Israel denies.

In the lawsuit filed Wednesday, the groups said they had not filed court filings or coordinated their defense with those affected by the sanctions for fear of potential fines and other retaliation. They argued that such limitations constituted a violation of the United States Constitution.

The action came after US officials launched an attempt to dismantle the ICC, arguing that it posed a threat to US sovereignty.

Earlier this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested the United States could expand its sanctions and vowed to use “every tool at our government’s disposal” to “dismantle the ICC, brick by brick, if necessary.”

Rubio, named as one of the defendants along with Trump and top officials Todd Blanche and Scott Bessent, claimed that the court threatened the US political and legal system.

The United States and Israel are not members of the ICC, which was established in 2002 with the power to prosecute alleged genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Trump announced the executive order last year after hosting Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The ICC had issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024 for alleged war crimes in Gaza. The court also issued an arrest warrant for a Hamas commander.

At the time, the United States condemned the court’s “shameful moral equivalence” between Israel and Hamas.