Man Sues ICE After Officers Visited His Home Over Critical Email

A New York man has filed a federal lawsuit against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after federal agents visited his home and tracked him to a hotel to deliver a warning notice — all triggered by a critical email he sent to the agency’s former acting director five months earlier. The lawsuit, filed July 6 in Washington, D.C., alleges the government violated his First Amendment right to free speech and seeks to halt what his attorneys describe as a pattern of intimidation against government critics.

Background

David Streever, a U.S. citizen and Rochester resident, sent a three-paragraph email on January 26 to Todd Lyons, then the acting director of ICE, with the subject line “What’s next.” The email came after federal immigration officers fatally shot two U.S. citizens — Renee Good on January 7 and Alex Pretti on January 24 — during an enforcement surge in Minneapolis. Both shootings, captured on video, sparked nationwide protests.

In the email, Streever called Lyons “a monstrous human being” who “will go down in history as America’s Reinhard Heydrich, the butcher” — a reference to a high-ranking Nazi official — and predicted the official would be tormented by his own conscience, according to AP News.

The Home Visit and Hotel Incident

On June 23 — five months after the email was sent — two agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrived at Streever’s Rochester home while he was on vacation in Finland with his 7-year-old daughter. The agents presented his wife, an Episcopal priest, with a formal “WARNING NOTICE” stating he “MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW” and demanding he “promptly discontinue” his behavior.

When Streever returned to the United States on June 25, an HSI agent tracked him to a New York City hotel — which his wife had not disclosed to authorities — and left a business card with the front desk. Two agents also called his phone repeatedly, leaving anonymous voicemails identifying themselves only as “Homeland Security Investigations,” according to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), which is representing Streever.

“Like many Americans, I was deeply upset after the shootings in Minnesota and I felt compelled to do something,” Streever said in a statement. “Writing an email 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 or descending on my hotel in the dark of night.”

Legal Arguments

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, names DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, former acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, and three unnamed HSI agents as defendants. FIRE argues that Streever’s email was core political speech protected by the First Amendment and that the five-month delay between the email and the home visit undermines any claim that it constituted a genuine threat.

“If someone is really threatening a government official, you don’t wait five months to act on it,” said Adam Steinbaugh, FIRE senior attorney. “The fact that authorities didn’t respond immediately shows that David presented no threat. This pursuit is designed to intimidate lawful speech, pure and simple,” as reported by NPR.

The lawsuit asks the court to declare that Streever’s email was protected speech and to bar DHS and ICE from further retaliation. It also seeks to have the warning notice system declared unconstitutional.

DHS Response

DHS defended its actions, citing a dramatic increase in threats against law enforcement officers. In a statement, the agency said, “Any allegation DHS and its components are attempting to ‘squash’ free speech is categorically FALSE,” adding that officers are “experiencing coordinated campaigns of violence against them and facing a 1,300% increase in assaults.” NPR noted these statistics have not been independently verified.

Broader Pattern

The same day agents visited Streever’s home, HSI agents also confronted Paigelynne Gonyea, a Syracuse poll worker, at her polling place during New York’s primary elections over an Instagram post about the ICE officer who shot Renee Good. The incident raised additional concerns about federal agents entering polling locations, potentially violating a recently enacted New York law barring federal immigration officers from voting sites, as The Guardian reported.

What’s Next

The case, Streever v. Mullin et al., will now proceed in federal court in Washington, D.C. Legal experts say the central question is whether Streever’s email constitutes protected political hyperbole or an unprotected “true threat” — a distinction the Supreme Court has long grappled with. The outcome could set an important precedent defining the limits of government response to citizen criticism of law enforcement.

For Streever, the experience has already had a profound impact. On their train ride home from New York City, he told his daughter that federal agents might confront them. The girl broke down in tears, worried about her father’s safety.

“I cherish our right to speak openly about issues of public concern,” Streever said. “I hope others will not be discouraged from peacefully expressing their views, even when those views are critical of the government.”