A second upstate New York resident said Tuesday that federal officers have served him with a warning about online activity that criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, adding to concerns from civil liberties groups about government response to criticism of the agency.
David Streever, of Rochester, was traveling in Finland when two officers visited his home last week and presented his wife with a warning notice regarding an email he sent months earlier, according to his attorney Adam Steinbaugh of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. The email was addressed to Todd Lyons, then acting director of ICE, and was sent in January after an immigration officer fatally shot Minneapolis resident Renee Good during an anti-ICE demonstration.
The warning arrived the same week poll worker Paigelynne Gonyea, of Syracuse, said two federal officers confronted her at a voting location during New York's primaries about a social media post she had written about the ICE officer who shot Good. Federal agents also attempted to confront Streever at a hotel in New York City when he returned from Finland but were turned away by hotel staff, Steinbaugh said.
What the Left Is Saying
Civil liberties advocates say the incidents represent government overreach that could chill constitutionally protected speech. Nathan Freed Wessler, deputy director of the ACLU's speech, privacy and technology project, said federal agents should not track down individuals at their homes or hotels in retribution for expressing frustration with government actions.
"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."
Steinbaugh argued that Streever's email was political speech rather than a true threat. "A true threat is a serious expression of an intent to commit violence. This email doesn't even come close," Steinbaugh said. "It's political speech, it's an act of petitioning your government."
The New York Attorney General's Office said it is aware of both residents' contacts with federal agents and has been reviewing the interaction between Gonyea and federal agents that took place at the polls.
What the Right Is Saying
ICE officials maintain they investigate all credible threats directed at agency employees and leadership. The agency provided a statement saying: "ICE investigates all credible threats towards its employees and officers, including threats to the ICE Director." Representatives for ICE declined further comment, citing an ongoing investigation.
Lauren Bis, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, parent agency of ICE, shared evidence she said showed Gonyea posted the address of Jonathan Ross, the ICE officer who shot and killed Good. "She committed a federal crime by posting the address of an ICE law enforcement officer online," Bis said in a statement. "If you doxx our officers, we will investigate you, and you will be brought to justice."
In Streever's email, he wrote: "The 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." Law enforcement officials have argued that language referencing someone's "downfall" and describing them as someone who will "never know peace" warrants review regardless of whether prosecution follows.
What the Numbers Show
The incidents come amid ongoing debate about federal law enforcement practices. According to DHS data, ICE and its parent agency field thousands of threat reports annually against personnel. The department has not disclosed how many of those result in warnings versus investigations or prosecutions.
Streever said he has not contacted DHS since receiving the warning and does not plan to. Gonyea's social media post remains visible online; it was made after Ross had already been publicly identified by news media. Neither Streever nor Gonyea faces criminal charges as of Tuesday, though Steinbaugh said his client received no formal documentation explaining what specific law he may have violated.
The Bottom Line
The two incidents highlight tensions between federal agencies' authority to investigate threats against their personnel and constitutional protections for speech criticizing the government. Both cases remain under review by different entities, with ICE conducting an investigation while the New York Attorney General's office separately examines interactions with Gonyea at her polling location.
Free speech advocates say they will continue monitoring whether federal enforcement actions have a chilling effect on legitimate political expression. Steinbaugh said Streever plans to push back against any further government action. "The First Amendment exists precisely so Americans can tell their government when they're outraged," he said.