2nd New Yorker Served Warning For Criticizing ICE

warning served – A second upstate New York resident says federal officers served him with a warning tied to an email he sent criticizing ICE, renewing fights over whether federal enforcement is chilling First Amendment speech.

When David Streever left his home in Rochester for a trip to Finland, he didn’t expect federal officers to show up while he was away. Two officers, his attorney said, came to his house last week and delivered his wife a warning notice tied to an email he sent months earlier.

The email, sent in January to Todd Lyons, then the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, referenced a moment that had inflamed public anger across the country. An immigration officer fatally shot Minneapolis resident Renee Good during an anti-ICE demonstration. and Streever wrote to ICE leadership in response.

According to attorney Adam Steinbaugh, Streever’s message criticized Lyons in stark terms and warned of future consequences. In the email. Streever called Lyons “a monstrous human being” who “will never know peace.” Steinbaugh said the email also told Lyons. “The way you are protecting the obvious execution in Minnesota. even as we see the videos. will lead to your downfall. ” adding. “Even Trump will turn on you before the end. and you will be a sad. despised man who eats himself alive with shame at your own pathetic weakness.”.

The warning reached Streever the same week poll worker Paigelynne Gonyea, of Syracuse, said federal officers visited her at a voting location during New York’s primaries to confront her about a social media post she made about the ICE officer who shot Good.

Both incidents center on the way federal agents handled online speech. Gonyea, like Streever, described what happened as a form of confrontation that blurred the line between criticism and enforcement.

Steinbaugh said federal agents also tried to confront Streever at a New York City hotel after he returned from Finland, but hotel staff turned them away.

ICE did not offer an explanation of the case in public. Representatives for the agency declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation.

In a statement, ICE said, “ICE investigates all credible threats towards its employees and officers, including threats to the ICE Director.”

Steinbaugh pushed back sharply, arguing the email should be treated as protected expression. He said a “true threat” is a serious expression of an intent to commit violence. and that the email “doesn’t even come close.” He added that it was “political speech. ” and “an act of petitioning your government.”.

Streever echoed that framing in a statement after receiving the warning. “Like many Americans. I was deeply upset after the shootings in Minnesota and I felt compelled to do something. ” he said. “Writing a letter to the head of ICE seemed like the least I could do to express my sense of outrage. I never dreamed it would lead to a knock on my door by federal officers.”.

Streever has not contacted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s parent agency, since receiving the warning, and he does not plan to, Steinbaugh said.

The Streever case is not happening in isolation. Gonyea says her own warning was tied to social media activity from January. when she posted a picture of Jonathan Ross. the ICE officer who shot and killed Good. Gonyea posted: “I think today is a great day for Jonathan to be indicted.” She has said that post is still up. and that it came after Ross had already been identified by the news media.

Gonyea’s warning, however, appears to include a separate allegation about doxxing. Lauren Bis, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, shared an image of a different post from Gonyea in which she said Gonyea shared Ross’s address. Part of the post was redacted.

Bis said in a statement last week that Gonyea “committed a federal crime by posting the address of an ICE law enforcement officer online” and warned: “if you doxx our officers, we will investigate you, and you will be brought to justice.”

A representative for the New York Attorney General’s Office said the office is aware of the two residents’ contacts with federal agents. The representative said the office has been reviewing the interaction between Gonyea and federal agents that took place at the polls.

The federal actions have drawn the attention of free speech advocates who see a pattern of pressure stretching beyond speech about policy and into personal pursuit. Nathan Freed Wessler. deputy director of the ACLU’s speech. privacy and technology project. said the incidents show how federal law enforcement can infringe on privacy and free expression.

“Nobody should be tracked down at their home or hotel room by federal agents in retribution for sending an email merely expressing frustration and opposition to the government’s actions. ” Wessler said. “This is an abuse of power and a gross attempt to chill Americans’ constitutionally protected speech.”.

ICE Immigration and Customs Enforcement David Streever Todd Lyons Renee Good Jonathan Ross Paigelynne Gonyea First Amendment free speech privacy U.S. Department of Homeland Security federal investigation