EXCLUSIVE: ICE Smacked Down by Judge After Agents Tracked Down Critic Who Ripped Agency — as Warning Likely Violated Free Speech Rights
U.S. District Judge ruled ICE likely violated a critic's First Amendment rights.
Sept. 16 2026, Published 7:00 p.m. ET
A federal judge has delivered a blow to Immigration and Customs Enforcement after agents tracked down an outspoken agency critic and warned him he could face prosecution over an email attacking ICE leadership, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras ruled a warning issued to David Streever likely violated his First Amendment right to free speech and partially granted his request for a preliminary injunction.
David Streeve Targets ICE Director in Blistering Email
ICE Director Todd Lyons received David Streever's scathing email.
According to court documents obtained by Radar, Streever sent a blistering three-paragraph email to Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons on January 26, criticizing his handling of the deaths of two Minnesotans who had been shot by ICE officers.
Streever called Lyons a "monstrous human being," compared him to N--- official Reinhard Heydrich, and predicted he would become a “sad, despised man” consumed by shame.
ICE officials determined the email had potential "threatening undertones" and opened an investigation. Five months later, two agents traveled to Streever's Rochester, New York, home while he was overseas.
ICE Agents Track Down Agency Critic
The judge wrote the message expressed anger over Lyons' official conduct.
The agents instead spoke with his wife and delivered a document marked "WARNING NOTICE," telling Streever that ICE believed his email could potentially violate federal law and requesting that he "remove and/or discontinue" the behavior.
The notice also warned violations could expose him to federal and state prosecution. Agents later attempted to locate Streever at a New York City hotel following his return from Europe, according to the ruling. But Contreras concluded Streever's email did not constitute a true physical threat and remained protected political expression.
The judge wrote the message expressed anger over Lyons' official conduct and predicted political and personal consequences, but was "a far cry" from a true threat of violence that would lose First Amendment protection.
Judge Says Warning Crossed the Line
The judge said ICE agents went beyond investigation when they arrived unannounced at Streever's home.
Contreras also rejected the government's argument that agents had merely conducted an investigation. The judge said ICE agents went beyond investigation when they arrived unannounced at Streever's home and delivered the warning.
According to the court, Streever is likely to succeed in showing the government engaged in unconstitutional coercion because the notice could reasonably be interpreted as threatening prosecution if he continued similar political speech. The ruling does not prevent ICE from investigating legitimate future threats.
Instead, Contreras temporarily barred defendants from relying on the existing warning notice or Streever's January email in future prosecutions or investigative demands and from issuing similar warnings suggesting that he cannot engage in non-threatening criticism of the government.
Court Blocks ICE From Using Warning
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Judge Rudolph Contreras partially granted Streever's injunction.
The judge separately declined to block the past ICE investigation itself because officials said it had already been closed. Contreras wrote that Streever nevertheless continued to face an injury from the warning notice because the government had not withdrawn it and it remained in effect.
The judge concluded Streever had a right to express political views through non-threatening speech, "however degrading" those views might be, and said officials likely infringed that right by threatening possible prosecution if he did not stop criticizing government officials.
The order is stayed for 14 days, giving the government time to appeal and seek a further stay before the injunction automatically takes effect.
