Newark, NJ – A federal magistrate judge has partially granted a motion by attorney Rajeh A. Saadeh to quash a subpoena issued by Springfield Township police to Meta Platforms, Inc., in connection with a lawsuit over the township’s denial of his firearm carry permit renewal.
In an opinion and order filed December 23, U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacey D. Adams ruled that the Springfield defendants — including the Township of Springfield, its Police Department, Chief John Cook, and Detective James Mirabile — overreached in seeking broad disclosure from Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. The subpoena sought information related to Saadeh’s personal social media accounts, which police cited in a November 2024 memorandum as containing allegedly “pro-Hamas” posts that prompted concerns over his suitability to carry a firearm.
According to court filings, Saadeh applied to renew his handgun carry permit in August 2024. His application was denied in November after Springfield police concluded that issuing the permit “would not be in the interest of the public health, safety, or welfare.” Internal correspondence later obtained through Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests revealed that police based their recommendation on social media posts that had since been deleted but were referenced in online articles and reported to the Union County Prosecutor’s Office Terrorism Task Force.
Saadeh sued the township, arguing that the investigation and subsequent denial violated his constitutional rights and that the subpoena for his private social media data was overly invasive and unrelated to legitimate discovery needs.
Judge Adams agreed in part, finding that while limited discovery concerning the alleged posts was permissible, the subpoena as drafted was “unduly broad and disproportionate to the needs of the case.” The court directed the parties to confer and narrow the scope of information Meta may be required to produce.
Defendants from the State of New Jersey and the New Jersey State Police took no position on the motion.
