Overview
- The U.S. District Court issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday that stops DHS and ICE from acting on or relying on the June “Warning Notice” served to David Streever and bars the agencies from issuing similar threats while his lawsuit proceeds.
- The Warning Notice, left at Streever’s Rochester home, said “YOU MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW,” asked him to remove or discontinue his speech, and warned that receipt would be “taken into consideration” if he continued.
- ICE agents visited Streever’s house while he was abroad, tracked him to a New York hotel, and left voicemails and a business card, actions the lawsuit says created a chilling effect on his willingness to speak.
- Judge Rudolph Contreras concluded the notice likely violated Streever’s First Amendment rights because it threatened prosecution and caused him to self-censor, and he ordered the government to produce the report that supposedly closed the investigation.
- The ruling preserves the government’s ability to investigate true threats but gives free-speech advocates a legal check on the use of coercive warning letters and may prompt appeal or policy changes as the case moves forward.