A New York resident has filed a lawsuit against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), alleging the agency violated his First Amendment rights by sending federal officers to his home to issue a warning over an email he sent to the agency's former acting director.

David Streever, a U.S. citizen, sent an email in January to Todd Lyons, then the acting director of ICE, following the fatal shooting of Minneapolis resident Renee Good during an anti-ICE demonstration. In the email, Streever referred to Lyons as a “monstrous human being” and stated he “will never know peace.”

In June, while Streever was traveling in Finland, two federal officers visited his Rochester home and presented his wife with a warning notice. The notice indicated that the email was considered a threat. According to his attorneys at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), this action infringes upon Streever's right to free expression.

"This is very clearly within the protection of the First Amendment," said Adam Steinbaugh, an attorney with FIRE. "It was in the context of political speech."

The lawsuit, filed Monday in Washington D.C., also names Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. ICE has previously stated that it investigates all credible threats towards its employees and officers, including threats to the ICE Director.

Streever's email, which had the subject line “What's next,” also drew a parallel between Lyons and Reinhard Heydrich, a Nazi leader. Streever wrote that the way Lyons was “protecting the obvious execution in Minnesota” would lead to his downfall and that he would be a “sad, despised man who eats himself alive with shame at your own pathetic weakness."

Federal agents reportedly attempted to confront Streever again at a New York City hotel upon his return from Finland, but were reportedly turned away by hotel staff, according to Steinbaugh.

This incident occurred in the same week federal officials visited another upstate New York resident, poll worker Paigelynne Gonyea, at a voting location during New York's primaries. Gonyea was confronted about a social media post she made after ICE officer Jonathan Ross fatally shot Good. In her post, Gonyea wrote, “I think today is a great day for Jonathan to be indicted,” accompanied by a picture of Ross.

Lauren Bis, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, stated in June that Gonyea “committed a federal crime by posting the address of an ICE law enforcement officer online” and that “if you doxx our officers, we will investigate you, and you will be brought to justice.” Bis shared an image of a different social media post from Gonyea, in which part of her address was redacted.

The New York Attorney General's Office has stated it is aware of the contacts between the two residents and federal agents and is reviewing the interaction involving Gonyea at the polls.