ICE is now coming for US citizens over strongly worded emails

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/7/7/800066423/courts/ice-is-now-coming-for-us-citizens-over-strongly-worded-emails/

ICE is now coming for US citizens over strongly worded emails

by Alix Breeden

Staff

Tuesday, July 7, 2026 at 11:00 AM EDT

5 Comments

This photo provided by David Streever shows federal officers at David Streever's home in Rochester, N.Y. in June 2026. (David Streever via AP) — This photo provided by David Streever shows federal officers at David Streever’s home in Rochester, New York, in June 2026. AP

Immigration and Customs Enforcement came to his doorstep and waited outside of his hotel after he criticized them—now David Streever is suing.

Have your say.Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Streever, with the help of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, is coming for ICE officials for impeding on his First Amendment rights in a lawsuit filed July 6.

Simply put, JT Morris, the deputy director of litigation at FIRE, told Daily Kos that this case is about “ICE trying to intimidate an American into silence.”

David Streever in front of his home. — David Streever stands in front of his home.Jeffrey Carlson / Crimson Dawn Media

In January, Streever—like many Americans—was upset over the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Taking to his email, he located then-acting ICE Director Todd Lyons’ email address and gave him a piece of his mind for defending the federal officials involved in the shootings rather than standing in support of Good or Pretti.

“The way you are protecting the obvious execution in Minnesota, even as we see the videos, will lead to your downfall,” Streever wrote to Lyons in a January 2026 email. “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.”

Streever went on to tell Lyons that he will “never know peace” and that, while Lyons might try to “escape the burden of knowing the truth” about himself, he will not be able to outrun it. “You will torment yourself until your last day on Earth.”

Apparently, this email was strongly worded enough to prompt ICE to show up at Streever’s home in Rochester, New York. In June, Nest home footage provided by FIRE shows two agents knocking at his door.

Not shown but documented in the press release, the agents talked to Streever’s wife. While she informed them that he and their daughter were out of the country on vacation and would be back in the coming days, they handed her a letter with a “WARNING NOTICE” stating that he “May be in violation of federal law.”

But the agents didn’t stop there. ICE officials located Streever and his young daughter’s travel itinerary and ascended upon their hotel in New York city late in the evening, according to the lawsuit, to wake up Streever in person.

“Like any American, [ICE’s response] rattled David,” Morris told us. “He’s now anxious about whether or not he can even criticize ICE or DHS without getting a knock on his door, or worse from it, and I think it’s not only David. This is about any American who has criticized DHS or ICE, and now has to wonder if they’re next.”

While the agency may have deemed Streever’s words to Lyons an imminent threat, the officers notably didn’t show up at his doorstep until five months after the email was sent.

“I think the fact that they came to his house five months after the fact and chased him down to his hotel too is pretty indicative of what this is all about, and it’s just simply to send a message—be quiet or else,” Morris told us.

The Trump administration has made their stance on people protesting against and speaking out against the Department of Homeland Security clear. Pretti and Good—whose deaths, and Trump’s response, even riled the right—were labeled as “domestic terrorists.” Meanwhile, anti-ICE protesters are being sentenced to decades-long prison sentences.

In this image from video provided by Sheilia Milledge, Paigelynne Gonyea, right, is presented with a form at a polling place on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Syracuse, N.Y. (Sheilia Milledge via AP) — In this image from video provided by Sheilia Milledge, Paigelynne Gonyea, right, is presented with a form at a polling place on June 23, in Syracuse, N.Y. AP

In a lawsuit similar to Streever’s, Paigelynn Gonyea was also served a letter from ICE after she posted a video to social media naming Jonathan Ross as Good’s shooter. Soon after, ICE agents showed up at a polling station in Syracuse, New York, where Gonyea was working to give her the warning.

And for those who criticized the agency from anonymous accounts, the Trump administration has already been issuing subpoenas to the accounts speaking ill of them. Reddit, the online messaging board where users can anonymously participate in conversations, was ordered to appear before a grand jury in Washington, D.C., as ICE demanded the company release the personal data of its users.

As for ICE’s approach to Streever, Morris said, it is “the latest in a long line of these sorts of intimidation and retaliation tactics.”

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#David Streever #First Amendment #ICE #Paigelynn Gonyea

Conversation

All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. The views expressed in comments are those of the individual authors and don't necessarily reflect the views of Daily Kos.

All Comments

Comment by Out There.
41 min ago
Act like a Nazi and then have a fit for being criticized for acting like a Nazi. In its current form ICE bears no resemblance to legitimate law enforcement. The First Amendment is very clear you have every legal right to criticize government agencies, and they have zero right to attempt to intimidate you for doing so. Hope the guy wins a lot of money!
Comment by annieli.
42 min ago
What, First Amendment? What First Amendment?
Comment by Gutenberg.
43 min ago
Jeez, no one takes Susan Collins's strongly worded letters seriously. ICE seems to be extra sensitive.
Comment by healejd.
43 min ago
If we do not win the midterms, we will be on those lists. Been saying that since his first admin. We are so fkng screwed if this is not stopped. VOTE and UNITE in PURPOSE. Numbers =POWER
Comment by ontheleftcoast.
47 min ago
Just mentioning that ICE or their agents might -- MIGHT -- suffer some form of punishment is being taken as a "grave threat of injury" so they think it can be used to skirt around the protection of Brandenburg on free speech.