A poll worker in Syracuse, New York, has stated that two agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) visited her workplace and threatened her with federal law violations over a social media post. Paigelynne Gonyea told Syracuse.com that the agents claimed they were investigating threats she had made against ICE personnel via her Instagram account.
According to Gonyea, the agents presented her with copies of her social media posts, her driver's license, and a form to sign. She stated the form warned that she might have violated federal law by threatening a federal official or their family through her online activity. Gonyea recounted the encounter, saying, “They tried to scare me into signing it while I was working.”
The post in question, made in January, identified ICE agent Jonathan Ross by name as the officer who fatally shot Renee Good on Jan. 7 in Minneapolis. Gonyea cited a news report in her post, stating, “I think today is a great day for Jonathan to be indicted.” Ross had not been indicted in Good’s death as of Thursday, according to the report.
Gonyea denied doxxing Ross, explaining that she does not consider quoting a news story and calling for an indictment to be doxxing, especially since she did not share his personal contact information like his address or phone number. Doxxing is commonly understood as sharing private information with malicious intent.
Gonyea also shared a photograph of the form she was asked to sign, which reportedly named her Instagram account and indicated a belief that she had violated a federal law prohibiting threats against federal officials or the dissemination of their restricted personal information to incite threats or violence. She also shared a voicemail from an individual identifying themselves as a Homeland Security agent, requesting to discuss an Instagram post where she allegedly “doxed an ICE agent.”
Representatives for Homeland Security and ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment.