--- description: Her treatment at airports was 'Kafkaesque,' she says. title: Snowden Documentary Filmmaker Is Suing the U.S. Government image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfe9aa9adb2911ea3/69885ae2a988ca1a316b3730/gettyimages-471399370.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Edward Snowden](/tag/edward-snowden/) ## Edward Snowden Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Snowden Documentary Filmmaker Laura Poitras Is Suing the U.S. Government by [Robert Hackett / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Robert Hackett / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 14, 2015 10:04 PM CUT  Laura Poitras Laura PoitrasGrant Lamos IV—Getty Images by [Robert Hackett / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Robert Hackett / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 14, 2015 10:04 PM CUT For the past six years, Laura Poitras has always had a homecoming party. Each time the award-winning video journalist has attempted to re-enter the United States, border patrol has detained her, according to a lawsuit [she filed against the United States government](http://time.com/3956685/laura-poitras-lawsuit-u-s-government-citizenfour-harassment/ "undefined") on Monday. That’s more than 50 occasions in total. Why? That’s her question, too. Poitras, creator of the Oscar-, Pulitzer-, and Academy Award-winning documentary [_Citizenfour_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4044364/ "undefined")_—_which chronicles the exploits of the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden—desires to know why security agents repeatedly harassed her during that period when she was working on her films. Apparently, she had been told during one of many hours-long detainments that her name appeared on a national security threat database. After filing Freedom of Information Act requests for her records, she received few clarifying details. So she’s taking legal action. Poitras will take the departments of justice and homeland security, as well as the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, to court. She has demanded access to the surveillance records that pertain to her. “I’m filing this lawsuit because the government uses the U.S. border to bypass the rule of law,” Poitras [said in a statement](https://www.eff.org/press/releases/oscar-and-pulitzer-award-winning-journalist-laura-poitras-sues-us-government-uncove-0 "undefined"). “This simply should not be tolerated in a democracy. I am also filing this suit in support of the countless other less high-profile people who have also been subjected to years of Kafkaesque harassment at the borders. We have a right to know how this system works and why we are targeted.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3958045/laura-poitras-sues-government/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3958045/laura-poitras-sues-government/"},"headline":"Snowden Documentary Filmmaker Laura Poitras Is Suing the U.S. Government","datePublished":"2015-07-14T22:04:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:05:59.665Z","description":"Her treatment at airports was 'Kafkaesque,' she says","url":"https://time.com/3958045/laura-poitras-sues-government/","keywords":["Edward Snowden","Tech","Department of Justice","Airports","harassment","Border Patrol"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfe9aa9adb2911ea3/69885ae2a988ca1a316b3730/gettyimages-471399370.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Robert Hackett / Fortune"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfe9aa9adb2911ea3/69885ae2a988ca1a316b3730/gettyimages-471399370.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"42nd Chaplin Award Gala - Alternative Views","caption":"42nd Chaplin Award Gala - Alternative Views","creditText":"Grant Lamos IV—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/edward-snowden/","name":"Edward Snowden"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3958045/laura-poitras-sues-government/","name":"Snowden Documentary Filmmaker Laura Poitras Is Suing the U.S. Government"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Person of the Year 2013 Shortlist: Edward Snowden","description":"TIME's Michael Scherer explains why NSA leaker Edward Snowden is on the short list for the 2013 TIME Person of the Year.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/cxBatp7g/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2013-12-11T12:42:24.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/cxBatp7g.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3958045/laura-poitras-sues-government/","duration":"PT2M26S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3958045/laura-poitras-sues-government/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```