A New York resident has filed a federal lawsuit against U. S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, alleging the agency violated his First Amendment rights by issuing a warning over a critical email.
David Streever, a U. S.
citizen from Rochester, filed the suit Monday in Washington, D. C.
, according to The Guardian.
The case stems from an incident in June when two ICE officers visited his home while he was traveling in Finland.
The officers presented Streever's wife with a warning notice regarding an email he sent in January to Todd Lyons, then acting director of ICE.
The email criticized Lyons after an immigration officer fatally shot Minneapolis resident Renee Good during an anti-ICE demonstration.
Streever's attorneys from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression argue the warning violated his right to free expression.
"This is very clearly within the protection of the first amendment," said attorney Adam Steinbaugh.
Steinbaugh noted that federal agents also attempted to confront Streever at a New York City hotel upon his return from Finland, but hotel staff turned them away.
He emphasized the email was political speech.
The lawsuit also names Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, whose department oversees ICE. ICE previously declined to comment on the warning, citing an ongoing investigation.
Mullin's office denied any attempt to suppress free speech, stating, "Any allegation DHS and its components are attempting to ‘squash’ free speech is categorically FALSE."
The department said actions were necessary against those targeting law enforcement.
Streever's email compared Lyons to a Nazi Germany leader and criticized his protection of the officer involved in the Minnesota shooting.
"You are a monstrous human being and will go down in history as America’s Reinhard Heydrich, the butcher," the email read.
The email concluded with personal assertions about Lyons' future peace of mind.
Federal officials also visited poll worker Paigelynne Gonyea at a voting location during New York's primaries the same week to confront her about a social media post concerning the officer who shot Good.
Homeland Security Department spokesperson Lauren Bis stated that sharing an officer's address online is a federal crime.
The New York attorney general's office is reviewing the interaction between Gonyea and federal agents.
