Judge Blocks ICE Threats Over Critical Email to Official

A federal judge has blocked the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement from threatening a New York man with prosecution over a critical email he sent to a top ICE official, ruling that the government likely violated his First Amendment rights. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday in a lawsuit brought by David Streever of Rochester, New York. The case stems from an email Streever sent in January 2026 to then-acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, in which he called Lyons a "monstrous human being" and compared him to Nazi official Reinhard Heydrich. The email was sent following the fatal shootings of two individuals by ICE officers in Minneapolis. Five months after the email, ICE agents delivered a "Warning Notice" to Streever's home, stating he "may be in violation of federal law" and instructing him to discontinue the behavior or face potential prosecution. Streever was traveling in Europe at the time, and agents later attempted to locate him at a New York City hotel. ICE closed its investigation of Streever on June 30, 2026, but did not notify him before he filed a lawsuit in July.