Considering that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is a former mixed martial arts fighter (5-0 in his short career), he is apparently easily threatened. And his easily bruised feelings have resulted in a new federal lawsuit brought by the person who allegedly made the threat.
Following the wreckage of “Operation Metro Surge” − the DHS operation in Minneapolis which led to the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti − David Streever, an author and journalist living in Rochester, New York, sent an email to then acting ICE Director Todd Lyons. The Jan. 26 email reflected Streever’s anger and frustration with ICE’s goon tactics. Here’s what it said, under the subject line “What’s next.”
You are a monstrous human being and will go down in history as America’s Reinhard Heydrich, the butcher. The way you are protecting the obvious execution in Minnesota, even as we see the videos, will lead to your downfall. Even Trump will turn on you before the end, and you will be a sad, despised man who eats himself alive with shame at your own pathetic weakness. You will never know peace. You will seek to lose yourself, to escape the burden of knowing the truth about yourself. But wherever you go, you will find yourself. You will torment yourself until your last day on Earth.
Upon receiving Streever’s email, Lyons and DHS had several options. They could have responded with a polite email to the effect of “thank you for your email.” They could have written a more aggressive response and defended their actions. They could have deleted it. DHS, however, took a different tack.
On June 23, two ICE special agents appeared at Streever’s house. Streever was in Europe, but his wife, an Episcopal priest, answered the door. The agents told Ms. Streever that her husband “may or may not have” sent an email to Todd Lyons, threatening Lyons, and needed to talk to Streever. They also gave Ms. Streever a “WARNING NOTICE,” which said in part, OPR (“Office of Professional Responsibility”) has identified an email sent to Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, which it has reason to believe may constitute a violation of Title 18 of the U.S. Code. Accordingly, OPR is requesting that you promptly remove and/or discontinue the aforementioned behavior.”
Also that evening, Streever received two voicemails from callers − one male, one female − who did not provide their names and identified themselves only as “Homeland Security Investigations.”
Streever’s wife told the agents that Streever would return on Friday, June 26, 2026. Instead of waiting for Streever to return on Friday, DHS or ICE sent a third agent to confront Streever on the night of Thursday, June 25, 2026. On that Thursday, Streever and his daughter arrived at JFK International Airport from Finland, after which Streever and his daughter checked into a hotel in New York City. At approximately 9 p.m. that evening, a hotel clerk awakened Streever and informed him that a DHS agent had appeared at the hotel looking for Streever. The hotel clerk gave Streever a business card left by the Special Agent. The business card identified the agent as Special Agent Trevor J. Pitts of the Jamaica, New York, office of Homeland Security Investigations of DHS. Interestingly, Streever’s wife had not informed the ICE agents, or anyone else, of the name of the hotel where Streever intended to stay.
On June 28, 2026, a DHS spokesperson – asked about the “WARNING NOTICE” directed to Plaintiff Streever – told journalists that “ICE investigates all credible threats towards its employees and officers, including threats to the ICE Director. As a matter of policy, we do not comment on any ongoing investigations.”
On July 6, Streever filed a lawsuit in federal court accusing Mullin and the agents of violating his First Amendment rights and retaliating against him for exercising his First Amendment rights. I like his chances.
There is no way that Streever’s is a threat. The United States Supreme Court has defined a threat as “statements where the speaker means to communicate a serious expression of an intent to commit an act of unlawful violence.” Streever’s email does no such thing. It may be judgmental and harsh, but he is not threatening to take any action toward Lyons or anyone at DHS. It is so clearly not a threat that it can only be seen as an effort to shut down critical speech. And that’s a clear threat to the First Amendment.
Jack Greiner is a Cincinnati attorney. He represents Enquirer Media in First Amendment and media issues. He can be reached at greinerjack46@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: The DHS feels threatened | Strictly Legal
Reporting by Jack Greiner, Special to The Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jack Greiner, Special to The Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
