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Color of Change v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec.

FOIA Exemption 5 Protects Draft Versions of DHS Intelligence Assessment From Disclosure

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OPINION & ORDER Color of Change and the Center for Constitutional Rights (together, “Plaintiffs”) and the United States Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) bring dueling motions for partial summary judgment in this Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) lawsuit. Plaintiffs seek disclosure of eight draft versions of a never-finalized intelligence assessment, as well as a portion of an e-mail regarding that assessment. DHS contends the documents are protected under FOIA Exemptions 3, 5, and 6. For the reasons that follow, DHS’s motion for partial summary judgment is granted and Plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment is denied.BACKGROUNDI. FactsDHS’s Intelligence & Analysis Office (“I&A”) “gather[s] and share[s] intelligence information in support of DHS’s broader counterterrorism, homeland security, and component-specific missions.” (See Declaration of Arthur R. Sepeta, ECF No. 60 (“Sepeta Decl.”)7.) As part of its mission, I&A “analyze[s] trends in terrorism affecting the United States, including domestic terrorism.” (Sepeta Decl.22.)The documents that Plaintiffs seek are drafts of a proposed intelligence assessment created by an I&A analyst and intern in the spring of 2017. (Sepeta Decl.

18-19, 22-23, 31.) The assessment was titled “(U\\FOUO) Growing Frequency of Race-Related Domestic Terrorist Violence¹,” and it “contemplated a survey of violent, terroristic acts that were driven by race-related extremist ideologies of varying stripes in order to assess developing trends in this space.” (Sepeta Decl.

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