A poll worker in Syracuse, New York, stated that two federal officers visited her at a voting location during the state's primaries to question her about a social media post she had made that was critical of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer. Paigelynne Gonyea said the encounter occurred Tuesday while she was working at a polling site.
Gonyea stated that the officers presented her with a written notice indicating she might be in violation of federal laws prohibiting the public dissemination of personal information about federal officers. The notice reportedly stemmed from a January social media post in which Gonyea shared a photograph of Jonathan Ross, an ICE officer who had been identified by news outlets in connection with the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis during anti-ICE demonstrations that month. In the post, Gonyea wrote, "I think today is a great day for Jonathan to be indicted."
Lauren Bis, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), issued a statement asserting 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 further stated that "doxxing federal law enforcement officers is a federal crime that puts their lives and their families in serious danger." DHS did not provide clarification on why Gonyea's post was considered doxxing, as it reportedly did not include Ross's address.
Gonyea’s post remains online, and she has indicated no intention of removing it, stating her plan to "use this experience to defend and support our First Amendment right."
A video recording of the encounter, made by another poll worker named Sheilia Milledge, shows two uniformed individuals speaking with Gonyea. Gonyea declined to sign the warning letter, which she later posted on social media. The letter was reportedly from ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility. Milledge described the incident as a "scare tactic" and noted that no voters were present during the confrontation.
Kathleen McGrath, a spokesperson for the New York State Board of Elections, confirmed that the incident "did not disrupt voting and was not related to the election process." Dustin Czarny, Onondaga County Democratic Elections Commissioner, stated he responded to the polling place after the event, spoke with poll workers, ensured voting was not interrupted, and "connected Paige to resources."
According to a recorded voicemail shared by Gonyea, a DHS agent had previously left a message stating they were calling "in reference to a post that we believe you made on Instagram where you doxxed an ICE officer back in January," and that she was "not in any type of trouble."
Sean Morales-Doyle, director of the voting rights and elections program at the Brennan Center for Justice, commented that while the officers' service of the warning may have been coincidental to Gonyea's work at the polling place, their presence could be intimidating to voters and poll workers. Adam Steinbaugh, an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, expressed concern, stating, "if officers are giving residents a formal complaint about their protected speech, we’re in trouble."
Rep. John Mannion, a Democrat representing the area, sent a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin calling for a review of the incident and urging the department to "put a stop to any ICE activities that target protected speech." Mannion's letter further stated, "ICE should not be broadly targeting online speech or actively monitoring social media accounts without cause and without proper judicial protections."