ICEBlock App Founder’s Wife Fired From DOJ Job
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In April, Joshua Aaron launched ICEBlock, an iOS app designed to inform users about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids within a five-mile radius. ICEBlock was modeled after Waze, the navigation app that’s powered, in part, by crowdsourced information on traffic conditions.
ICEBlock quickly climbed to the number 1 spot on Apple’s App Store “Top Chart” and was swiftly met with outspoken criticism and threats from high-ranking members of the Trump administration.
Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said the app “…sure looks like obstruction of justice” and said of those promoting illegal activity, “We’re going to actually go after them and prosecute them.”
Recently, there’s been an interesting twist to the plot. Joshua Aaron’s wife, Carolyn Feinstein, was reportedly employed in an auditing role by the Department of Justice when he launched the app. However, Feinstein has now reportedly been dismissed by the DOJ. In an interview with MSW Media, shared by Newsweek, Feinstein says that notice of her immediate termination came via email with no prior warning, and she believes it resulted from her husband’s work on the app.
I wasn’t just terminated, I was targeted. I was fired as retaliation for my husband’s activism. It’s probably been about a week and a half since people realized I was married to Joshua Aaron. It was never concealed or secret; I think people just hadn’t realized it yet.
Carolyn Feinstein
While Feinstein is exploring the possibility of filing a wrongful termination lawsuit, the DOJ is holding the line. In response to an inquiry on the matter from Newsweek, the DOJ replied:
For several weeks, the Department of Justice inquired into this former employee’s activities and discovered she has a sizable interest in All U Chart, Inc., the company that holds the IP for ICEBlock. ICEBlock is an app that illegal aliens use to evade capture while endangering the lives of ICE officers by disclosing their location. This DOJ will not tolerate threats against law enforcement or law enforcement officers.
It’s hard to imagine Aaron and Feinstein wouldn’t have considered potential employment consequences for Feinstein ahead of launching ICEBlock, considering she worked for the DOJ and has an ownership interest in the app. Whether or not the risk was calculated, it adds an interesting wrinkle to an already fascinating story, especially if it makes its way to the courtroom. As of today, ICEBlock is no longer listed among Apple’s top free iOS apps or its top free social networking apps.
