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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 agents visited his home - while he was traveling in Europe - to warn his wife that an email he 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 acting director of ICE, following the death of Renee Good on January 7, 2026, a 37-year-old American citizen shot by the agency's officer Jonathan Ross during an operation in Minneapolis.
That death was soon followed by that of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, events that sparked mass 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 will go down in history as the American Reinhard Heydrich, the butcher,” Streever wrote in the first paragraph.
In the second, I warned Lyons: "The way you are shielding the evident execution in Minnesota, even as we watch the videos, will lead you to your downfall. Even Trump will turn against you before the end, and you will be a sad and despised man consumed by shame over your own pathetic weakness."
"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," the letter concluded.
Streever and his lawyers argue that the message does not contain any real threat of violence and 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 showed up 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" stating that Streever "may be violating federal law," and he was ordered to "cease and/or desist" such conduct, under the threat of criminal prosecution.
Upon returning from Finland through John F. Kennedy International Airport, a third officer from the DHS tracked Streever to his hotel in New York that same night.
According to the lawsuit, his wife claims that she never disclosed the name of the establishment to anyone.
Hotel staff prevented the agent's 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 lawsuit and the legal arguments
The lawsuit, known as Streever v. Mullin et al., was filed on Monday in the Federal District Court 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), headquartered in Philadelphia.
“This is very clearly within the protection of the First Amendment,” said Adam Steinbaugh, attorney for the foundation. “It was in the context of political speech.”
The lawsuit requests that the court declare Streever's correspondence protected, rule that the warnings unlawfully infringe on 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 claim that the DHS is attempting to suppress free speech 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, also due to an Instagram post from January 2026 where 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 committing "a federal crime by posting an ICE agent's address 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 officers at the polling places.
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