Nearly a week after The Guardian broke word that the NSA was collecting phone records of millions of Americans, the first lawsuit has been filed in response.
Philly.com reported Tuesday that Charles and Mary Ann Strange, the parents of deceased Navy SEAL Michael Strange, filed a class-action lawsuit in a Washington D.C. federal court. The claim alleges that the NSA's collection of phone records violates "reasonable expectation of privacy, free speech and association, right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures, and due process rights."
Back in August 2011, the Associated Press reported that Strange was killed at age 25 in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. CBS Philadelphia adds that Strange was one of 31 U.S. special operations troops to die in the incident, which took place in the Wardak province.
Some voices in Washington have suggested action be taken at a level much higher than a single class-action case. On Sunday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he is weighting a Supreme Court challenge to the NSA's program.
"I'm going to be seeing if I can challenge this at the Supreme Court level," Paul said on Fox News Sunday. "I’m going to be asking all the internet providers and all of the phone companies: Ask your customers to join me in a class action lawsuit. If we get 10 million Americans saying we don’t want our phone records looked at, then maybe someone will wake up and something will change in Washington."
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