{"id":5181,"date":"2026-07-07T14:00:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T14:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/07\/07\/new-york-man-sues-ice-for-sending-officers-to-his-house-after-he-emailed-agency-head\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T14:00:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T14:00:44","slug":"new-york-man-sues-ice-for-sending-officers-to-his-house-after-he-emailed-agency-head","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=5181","title":{"rendered":"New York man sues ICE for sending officers to his house after he emailed agency head"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"28619278-bf9d-4afa-be44-bff6debf1a91\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"a man in glasses and a girl\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/32a47559774965cd17b59b1ee6267df11e527989\/473_0_3040_2432\/master\/3040.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">An undated photo provided by David Streever and his daughter.<\/span> Photograph: David Streever\/AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"28619278-bf9d-4afa-be44-bff6debf1a91\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">An undated photo provided by David Streever and his daughter.<\/span> Photograph: David Streever\/AP<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">New York man sues ICE for sending officers to his house after he emailed agency head<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>David Streever had emailed acting ICE director after an immigration officer fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">An upstate New York resident sued US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/ice-us-immigration-and-customs-enforcement\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">ICE<\/a>) for sending federal officers to his house with a warning over an email he sent to the agency\u2019s one-time head.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">David Streever, who is a US citizen, was on a trip to Finland when two officers showed up to his Rochester home in June and presented his wife with a warning notice informing him that the email he sent months earlier was considered a threat, his attorneys said. Streever sent the email in January to Todd Lyons, then the acting director of ICE, after an immigration officer fatally shot Minneapolis resident <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jan\/22\/renee-good-autopsy-ice-minneapolis\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Renee Good<\/a> in a confrontation caught on video during an anti-ICE demonstration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">In the email, Streever called Lyons \u201ca monstrous human being\u201d who \u201cwill never know peace\u201d. He said the agency violated his rights under the US constitution\u2019s first amendment \u2013 which include free speech \u2013 in a lawsuit filed on Monday in Washington DC.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Streever is one of at least two residents of upstate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/new-york\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">New York<\/a> who was served with a federal warning in June in the wake of criticizing ICE online. The Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression is representing Streever \u2013 and said it filed the lawsuit because Streever\u2019s right to free expression was violated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cThis is very clearly within the protection of the first amendment,\u201d said Adam Steinbaugh, an attorney with the foundation. \u201cIt was in the context of political speech.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Representatives for ICE previously declined to comment on the warning to Streever, citing an ongoing investigation. And the agency did not immediately comment on Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The suit also names Markwayne Mullin, the secretary of homeland security, which oversees ICE. Mullin\u2019s office released a statement that said: \u201cAny allegation DHS and its components are attempting to \u2018squash\u2019 free speech is categorically FALSE.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The statement added: \u201cAnyone who assaults or threatens our law enforcement officers will face the consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Streever\u2019s three-paragraph email carried the subject line \u201cWhat\u2019s next\u201d and referenced a leader in Nazi Germany.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cYou are a monstrous human being and will go down in history as America\u2019s Reinhard Heydrich, the butcher,\u201d the email said. \u201cThe way you are protecting the obvious execution in Minnesota, even as we see the videos, will lead to your downfall. 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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cYou will never know peace. You will seek 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Federal agents also attempted to confront Streever at a hotel in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/new-york\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">New York<\/a> City when he returned from Finland \u2013 but they were turned away by hotel staff, Steinbaugh said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Federal officials went to Streever\u2019s house the same week that officials visited <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/ice-poll-worker-syracuse-fa082f8ac25d019e93b526fdef37df6c\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Paigelynne Gonyea<\/a>, a poll worker, at a voting location during New York\u2019s primaries to confront her about a social media post.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Gonyea believes the warning stemmed from writing \u201cI think today is a great day for Jonathan to be indicted,\u201d in a post with a picture of Jonathan Ross, the ICE officer who shot and killed Good. She posted it in January, after Ross had already been identified by the news media.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">A homeland security department spokeperson, Lauren Bis, shared an image of a different social media post from Gonyea in which she said Gonyea shared Ross\u2019s address. Part of that post was redacted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Bis said in a statement in June that Gonyea \u201ccommitted a federal crime by posting the address of an ICE law enforcement officer online\u201d \u2013 and \u201cif you doxx [sic] our officers, we will investigate you, and you will be brought to justice\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">A representative for the New York attorney general\u2019s office has said the office is aware of the two residents\u2019 contact with federal agents. The representative has said the office has been reviewing the interaction between Gonyea and federal agents that took place at the polls.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/ice-us-immigration-and-customs-enforcement\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/trump-administration\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Trump administration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/new-york\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">New York<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=New%20York%20man%20sues%20ICE%20for%20sending%20officers%20to%20his%20house%20after%20he%20emailed%20agency%20head&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jul\/07\/new-york-man-sues-ice-email?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fjul%2F07%2Fnew-york-man-sues-ice-email&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/jul\/07\/new-york-man-sues-ice-email\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-axwinp\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An undated photo provided by David Streever and his daughter. Photograph: David Streever\/AP View image in fullscreen An<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5181\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}