The Trump administration is scrambling to cover its tracks amid legislative pressure and a First Amendment lawsuit over its alleged “domestic terrorist” database, new legal filings and emails reviewed by Mother Jones reveal.

A federal class action lawsuit filed last month against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) alleges that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents unlawfully targeted and intimidated Maine residents who were observing immigration operations. The complaint details incidents in which federal agents collected biometric data and license plate information from two legal observers—Colleen Fagan and Elinor Hilton—and warned the women that they were being added to a domestic terrorist database.

“Why are you taking my information down?” Fagan asks an ICE agent in one viral video. The 31-year-old social worker had been observing and documenting ICE agents as they descended on her hometown of Portland—part of a statewide immigration enforcement surge dubbed “Operation Catch of the Day” by the Trump administration.

“’Cause we have a nice little database,” the ICE agent replies, “and now you’re considered a domestic terrorist.”

That exchange, captured on video by Fagan and posted to X on January 23, has since been viewed more than 7 million times. The ICE agent’s remark has sparked concerns among activists that the government is building a watchlist of its critics—especially as DHS expands its use of mass surveillance technology and Trump administration officials publicly condemn peaceful protesters and legal observers as “terrorists.”