Sanctions against cryptomixer Tornado Cash have been upheld by a US court after the judge ruled, among other things, that First Amendment rights do not apply to the case.
Tornado Cash was blacklisted by the Treasury Department in August 2022 for allegedly posing a threat to national security, in part because it allegedly helped groups like North Korean hackers Lazarus launder stolen funds.
Alexey Pertsev, a developer of Tornado Cash, was arrested and imprisoned by Dutch authorities in Amsterdam and held without trial until April 2023.
Now a US court has challenged the sanctions of six Tornado Cash users and upheld the ban on the Ethereum-based cryptomixer.
In the ruling, Judge Robert Pitman of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, said plaintiffs’ arguments alleging constitutional violations were not strong enough.
“Plaintiffs also file a First Amendment claim, contending that Tornado Cash’s designation fails
constitutional oversight because it is too broad and not specifically tailored.
The Court will give judgment to the government in preliminary relief proceedings and reject these claims. Plaintiffs have not shown that the action of the administration in any way implies the First Amendment.”
Pitman expressed concern that Tornado Cash was helping people donate money to important political causes without fear of prosecution.
The judge said the First Amendment protects Americans’ rights to donate money to social causes of their choice, but does not protect the right to do so through “a particular bank or service of their choice, and the plaintiffs are not pursuing any case that claims the contrary. .”
Don’t Miss Out – Subscribe to receive email alerts delivered straight to your inbox
Check price action
follow us on TwitterFacebook and Telegram
Surf the Daily Hodl mix
Image generated: Midway through the journey