McVeigh v. Cohen

McVeigh v. Cohen, 983 F.Supp. 215 (1998), was a lawsuit in U.S. federal court in which a member of the U.S. Armed Forces challenged the military's application of its "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy, which established guidelines for service by gays and lesbians in the U.S. military. The U.S. Navy sought to discharge Timothy R. McVeigh for declaring his homosexuality, which he had allegedly done via anonymous Internet posts. McVeigh's suit denied he had made such a declaration and charged the Navy with failure to adhere to its own DADT policy in the course of investigating him, while violating the Electronic Communications Privacy Act by collecting his private online communications.

McVeigh won a preliminary injunction against his discharge and the Navy, without acknowledging culpability, allowed him to retire with an honorable discharge. The New York Times called it "a victory for gay rights, with implications for the millions of people who use computer on-line services."