You probably know Cards Against Humanity as that game that makes your Thanksgiving dinner with the relatives awkward. It's the "party game for horrible people," right? But over the last decade, it morphed into something else entirely. It became a weird, hyper-litigious, multi-million dollar activist organization. When people search for Cards Against Humanity government interactions, they aren't usually looking for a specific expansion pack—though those exist. They’re looking for the time a card game company literally bought a plot of land on the US-Mexico border just to screw with a sitting president.
It’s bizarre. Honestly, if you told someone in the 90s that a company selling literal slips of cardboard would eventually be a thorn in the side of the Department of Justice, they’d think you were hallucinating. But here we are. The creators of the game have spent years using their massive profits to fund stunts that range from the hilariously petty to the legally significant.
The 2017 Border Wall Stunt
Let’s get into the meat of it. In late 2017, Cards Against Humanity launched a holiday promotion called "Cards Against Humanity Saves America." They asked 150,000 people to send them $15. In exchange, the company promised six surprises. One of those surprises was a piece of vacant land in Cameron County, Texas.
Why? Because the Trump administration wanted to build a wall.
By purchasing the land and splitting the "interest" among thousands of contributors, the company created a massive legal headache for the Cards Against Humanity government relationship. They didn't just buy the dirt; they hired a law firm specializing in eminent domain. The goal was to make the process of seizing that land as slow, expensive, and annoying as possible for the federal government.
They weren't just joking. They actually did it. They bought a plot of land that stood right in the path of the proposed wall. Then, they sued.
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In 2020, the company provided an update. They hadn't won some grand, permanent victory that stopped all construction everywhere, but they had successfully tied up that specific plot in court for years. It was a masterclass in using "nuisance" law as a form of political protest. It showed that if you have enough "horrible" people chipping in $15, you can actually out-bureaucrat the bureaucrats.
When SpaceX Messed Everything Up
Fast forward to 2024. The story took a sharp turn into "billionaire vs. card game" territory. It turns out that land CAH bought to spite the government wasn't just sitting there peacefully. Elon Musk’s SpaceX had a facility nearby in Brownsville. According to a massive $15 million lawsuit filed by Cards Against Humanity, SpaceX treated their "protest land" like a literal construction dump.
The company alleged that SpaceX employees parked equipment there, dumped gravel and soil, and basically treated the pristine, protected land like their own backyard. This matters because it shifted the Cards Against Humanity government narrative from "resisting the feds" to "protecting property rights."
The irony is thick. A company that built its brand on being "anti-establishment" was suddenly using the very rigid, very traditional court system to protect a tiny patch of dirt from the world's richest man. It wasn't just about the grass. It was about the principle that even a joke company has the right to exist without being trampled by a government-contracted aerospace giant.
The "Redistribution" Experiments
It’s not just land. CAH has a history of messing with economic policy on a micro-scale. In 2017, as part of the same "Saves America" campaign, they looked at the wealth gap.
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They took the $15 from everyone who signed up. Then, they sent $1,000 checks to the 100 poorest subscribers. Everyone else got nothing or very little. It was a blatant, public experiment in wealth redistribution. They’ve also paid off the student loans of their fans and bought the naming rights to a professional soccer stadium just to name it "Medicom Health Stadium" (wait, no, that was a different joke—they actually named it "Cards Against Humanity Stadium" for a minute before things got weird).
Actually, the stadium thing was for the Chicago Fire. They bought the rights to the broadcast and then did... well, nothing. They just wanted to show they could.
The Internal "Government" Scandal
We have to be honest here: the company’s "activist" image took a massive hit internally. In 2020, the "horrible people" brand became a bit too literal. Reports surfaced about a toxic work environment, particularly for Black and Brown employees and women.
While the company was busy fighting the Cards Against Humanity government battles on the border, their own internal governance was falling apart. Co-founder Max Temkin stepped down following allegations of creating a "culture of fear." It was a wake-up call. You can't really claim to be "saving America" if your own office is a mess.
They’ve spent the last few years trying to fix that. They hired a firm to investigate the culture and changed how decisions are made. It’s a reminder that even the most "progressive" or "edgy" companies are still just companies. They are subject to the same human failures as the institutions they mock.
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Why This Matters for the Future of Corporate Activism
What Cards Against Humanity did was create a blueprint. They showed that a consumer brand doesn't have to just "post a black square" on Instagram or put a rainbow on a logo. They can actually use their capital to engage in legal warfare.
Is it effective? Sort of. It’s a "death by a thousand cuts" strategy. One plot of land doesn't stop a border wall, but it creates a precedent. It forces the government to spend resources on a fight they didn't want.
How to Track This Yourself
If you’re interested in following how these types of legal challenges play out, you don't have to wait for a press release. You can actually look up the court filings.
- Pacer.gov: This is the federal court database. If you search for "Cards Against Humanity v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security" or similar terms, you can see the actual legal motions.
- Cameron County Property Records: You can look up the specific deeds for the land they bought near Brownsville. It’s public record.
- SEC Filings (for the tech giants): While CAH is private, their "enemies" like SpaceX or other government contractors often have to disclose legal risks in their filings.
Actionable Insights for the Average Citizen
You probably don't have $15 million or a legal team on retainer, but the Cards Against Humanity government saga offers some real-world lessons:
- Property Rights are a Powerful Shield: In the U.S., the law is very protective of landowners. If you want to stop a project, owning the dirt is often more effective than holding a sign.
- Collective Action Works: $15 from 150,000 people is $2.25 million. That’s enough to hire the best lawyers in the country. Small contributions can fund massive legal shifts.
- Check the "Activists": Always look at the internal culture of companies that claim to be "saving" anything. The 2020 CAH scandal proves that a bold public face can hide a broken internal system.
- The Courts are Slow: The border wall lawsuit took years. If you're going to fight the government, you need to be in it for the long haul. There is no such thing as a "quick" legal victory against the state.
The next time you pull out that box of cards, remember it’s not just a game. It’s a legal fund. It’s a land-holding company. And for a few years, it was a tiny, cardboard-fueled resistance movement operating right out of a Chicago office.
If you want to stay updated on their current legal battles, specifically the SpaceX land dispute, keep an eye on the Southern District of Texas court dockets. That case is likely to drag on for a while, and the outcome will tell us a lot about whether "joke" land ownership holds up against the expansion of private space exploration. It’s a weird world, but at least it’s not boring.