politics
Lawsuit Alleges ICE Warning Notice Violated Free Speech Rights
A U.S. citizen filed suit against the Department of Homeland Security and ICE after officers delivered a warning notice following his email criticizing agency leadership. The complaint claims the notice and subsequent visits amounted to retaliation for protected speech.
Jul 7, 2:49 AM·2m read5 sources
Security reviewSpeech violation
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A U.S. citizen filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, alleging that officers violated his First Amendment rights by delivering a warning notice after he sent an email criticizing agency leadership. David Streever sent the email in January 2026 to then-acting ICE Director Todd Lyons.
In the message he called Lyons "a monstrous human being" and compared him to Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich. The email referenced an immigration raid in Minneapolis in which ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed U.S. citizen Renee Nicole Good. Two federal officers visited Streever's home in June 2026 while he was traveling in Finland and gave his wife a warning notice.
The notice stated that Streever "may be in violation of federal law" and directed him to "promptly remove and/or discontinue" his behavior.
After his return, officers attempted to confront him at a New York City hotel but were turned away by staff. They also left voicemails on his phone identifying themselves only as Homeland Security Investigations. The lawsuit names Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin as a defendant and asks the court to order DHS and ICE to stop alleged coercion and retaliation.
Mullin's office stated that any allegation DHS and its components are attempting to "squash" free speech is categorically false. Adam Steinbaugh, an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression representing Streever, said the delayed response showed no legitimate threat existed.
Streever stated he was shocked by the officers' actions and hoped others would not be discouraged from expressing critical views. The warning to Streever occurred the same week poll worker Paigelynne Gonyea said two federal officers confronted her at a Syracuse voting site on June 23 during New York's primaries.
A DHS spokesperson said Gonyea committed a federal crime by posting the address of an ICE law enforcement officer online. Former acting ICE Director Tom Homan stated he will send more ICE agents to New York City because of lack of local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
