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David Streever, a U.S. citizen residing in Rochester, New York, filed a federal lawsuit against ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after federal agents showed up at his home—while he was traveling in Europe—to warn his wife that an email he had sent months earlier could constitute a violation of federal law.
The origin of the incident was a three-paragraph message that Streever sent in January 2026 to Todd Lyons, then the interim director of ICE, following the death of Renee Good in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026, a 37-year-old American citizen shot by the agent of that agency, Jonathan Ross, during an operation in Minneapolis.
Death that was soon followed by that of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, events that triggered massive protests. It was the outrage over both incidents that prompted Streever to write that email.
The email that sparked the federal investigation
The message, with the subject “What’s Coming”, had a strong political tone.
Streever compared Lyons to the Nazi war criminal Reinhard Heydrich, predicting a future of shame and isolation for him.
“You are a monstrous human being and you will go down in history as the American Reinhard Heydrich, the butcher,” Streever wrote in the first paragraph.
In the second, it warned:
"The way you are shielding the obvious execution in Minnesota, even as we watch the videos, will lead to your downfall. Even Trump will turn against you before the end, and you will be a sad and despised man consumed by shame for your own pathetic weakness."
The third paragraph concluded:
"You will never know peace. You will try to lose yourself, to escape the burden of knowing the truth about yourself. But wherever you go, you will find yourself. You will torment yourself until your last day on Earth."
Streever and his attorneys argue that the message does not contain any real threat of violence, and that it constitutes political speech protected by the First Amendment.
Agents at your home and then at your hotel
Five months later, in June 2026, two special agents from ICE arrived at Streever's home in Rochester while he was in Finland with his seven-year-old daughter.
The agents handed his wife a "WARNING NOTICE" indicating that Streever "may be violating federal law," and he was ordered to "cease and/or discontinue" such conduct, under the threat of criminal prosecution.
Upon returning from Finland through John F. Kennedy International Airport, a third DHS agent tracked Streever to his hotel in New York that same night.
According to the lawsuit, his wife claims that she never revealed the name of the establishment to anyone.
The hotel staff denied the agent access, but Streever received two voicemail messages from DHS investigators on his phone.
Streever's daughter cried during the train ride back to Rochester, telling him that she didn't want him to be killed.
The demand and the legal arguments
The lawsuit, known as Streever v. Mullin et al., was filed this Monday in the Federal Court for the District of Columbia and also names the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, as a defendant.
Streever is represented by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), based in Philadelphia.
“This is clearly within the protection of the First Amendment,” stated Adam Steinbaugh, attorney for the foundation.
"It was in the context of a political speech."
The lawsuit requests that the court declare Streever's correspondence protected, rule that the warnings unlawfully restrict freedom of expression, and prohibit DHS and ICE from taking further action against him for similar political expressions.
The government's response
ICE declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation, although it noted in a previous statement: "ICE investigates all credible threats against its employees and agents."
The Mullin office rejected the accusations: "Any accusation that the DHS is attempting to suppress freedom of expression is categorically FALSE."
a parallel case
The case is not isolated.
Paigelynne Gonyea, an election worker from Syracuse, was confronted by two ICE agents at a polling station during the New York primaries on June 23, 2026, also due to an Instagram post from January 2026 in which she wrote, "I think today is a great day for Jonathan to be charged," alongside a photo of Agent Ross.
The DHS spokesperson Lauren Bis accused Gonyea of having committed "a federal crime by posting the address of an ICE agent online."
A representative from the New York Attorney General's office confirmed that the office is reviewing both cases, particularly the interaction between Gonyea and the agents at the polling places.
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