Tornado Cash Users Suing US Treasury Claim First Amendment Violation

Six Tornado Cash users suing the US Treasury for sanctioning Tornado Cash claim banning the open-source software violates the first amendment. Coinbase is bankrolling the lawsuit against the US Treasury.

Six individuals fighting the US Treasury to revert sanctions on Tornado Cash claimed in their latest filings that the Treasury doesn’t have the right authority to prohibit the platform. The plaintiffs filed their reply brief seeking to lift the sanctions on 24th May.

Plaintiffs claim government overreach in sanctioning Tornado Cash

Plaintiffs argued that sanctioning Tornado Cash unconstitutionally burdened speech under the First Amendment. Plaintiffs used the open-source software to protect their privacy. The sanctioning of the open-source platform is a violation of the fundamental rights of the US citizens, as per the filing.

The plaintiffs also argued that these sanctions depend on assuming that anyone who happens to hold TORN is a member of a legally-recognized entity called “Tornado Cash,” which is factually wrong.

The law that was used to sanction the crypto mixer says it can only block property. But, the legal definition of property is something that can be owned. But the privacy-centered software can not be owned, controlled or changed by anyone. No one can change or control the platform, including founders, developers and people who just happen to have TORN in their wallets.

Treasury tells crypto mixer’s users to practice Free Speech elsewhere.

The US Treasury rolled out sanctions on Tornado Cash last year claiming the platform was being used to launder money and facilitate terror funding. When six users filed a motion to revert those sanctions claiming it violates free speech, the US Treasury, unable to defend the decision, told the crypto mixer user to go engage in free speech somewhere else.

The deveoper of the open-source software, Alexey Pertsev, was arrested last year and is currently facing money laundering charges in the Netherlands.