Man Sues DHS and ICE After Receiving Warning Notice for Email Comparing Official to Nazi

A Rochester, New York resident filed a federal lawsuit Monday against the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, alleging officers infringed on his First Amendment rights by delivering a warning notice tied to an email he sent to the agency’s former acting director.

the email The email was sent after an immigration officer fatally shot a Minneapolis resident during an anti-ICE demonstration. It addressed the then-acting ICE director and contained strong language comparing the recipient to a Nazi official and predicting personal downfall.

Federal officers first attempted to locate the sender at a New York City hotel upon his return from Finland but were turned away by hotel staff. They later visited his Rochester residence and presented his wife with the warning notice.

similar visits The Rochester case is one of at least two instances in upstate New York in which residents received federal warnings in June after posting or sending criticism of ICE online. In a separate incident the same week, officials visited a poll worker at a voting location during New York’s primaries to address a social media post.

Agency officials issued a statement asserting that any suggestion the department is attempting to restrict free speech is false and that individuals who threaten law enforcement officers will face consequences.

“Anyone who assaults or threatens our law enforcement officers will face the consequences." — Homeland Security statement, July 6, 2026 The complaint asks the court to order DHS and ICE officials to stop its “coercion and retaliation” against the plaintiff for his protected speech.”