Far-right influencer Laura Loomer was hit with a series of troubling allegations this week in a lawsuit filed against the Trump administration, the plaintiff of which accused Loomer of being an “unregistered” foreign lobbyist.
On Thursday, The Grayzone revealed that its editor, Max Blumenthal, had filed a lawsuit against Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin after Blumenthal’s phones were seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents last month. The lawsuit was filed by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, and alleges that the Trump administration violated Blumenthal’s First and Fourth Amendment rights at the direction of Loomer.
“Was the order to seize my devices delivered under pressure from unregistered Israel and Ukraine lobbyist Laura Loomer, who boasted about calling Trump cabinet officials to demand I be jailed for my reporting from Iran, and effectively took credit for the confiscation of my devices?” Blumenthal asked Thursday evening in a social media post on X.
“We're filing this lawsuit to answer that question, and to prevent the unconstitutional weaponization of federal law enforcement against journalists whose reporting complicates their malign, Israeli-directed agenda.”
As cited in the lawsuit, Loomer had led an aggressive and public campaign against Blumenthal in response to the journalist having traveled to Iran to report on the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
In one social media post, Loomer urged Mullin to have Blumenthal “taken off the plane by US Marshalls when he lands back in the US” and “revoke his passport.” In another, she urged the FBI to conduct a “heavily armed raid” on his home at 5 a.m. After Blumenthal’s phones were seized, she indicated she had insider knowledge of the FBI’s interest in him.
While Loomer has no official position within the Trump administration, she wielded “breathtaking influence” in the White House, having played an outsized role in the administration’s mass firings and immigration policies.
A self-described “proud Islamophobe,” Loomer has a long history of making what critics have labeled as overtly racist and bigoted remarks, particularly against Muslims, having called them “savages.” Her racially charged remarks have also been extended to other ethnicities, including Indians, with Loomer once warning that the White House would “smell like curry” if former Vice President Kamala Harris – whose mother was Indian – won the 2024 presidential election.
When federal agents seized my phones at Dulles Airport, they flagrantly violated several 4th circuit rulings which explicitly forbid advanced forensic searches of devices without a warrant or individualized suspicion.
Was the order to seize my devices delivered under pressure… https://t.co/KKj5aB9nsd
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) August 20, 2026
