When DHS Comes to Call
Two people. Two visits from DHS. Two violations of free speech.
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Edited 6/28/2026 at 9:15 AM PST
WHEN DHS COMES TO CALL
An unknown number flashes across your screen. A voicemail notification pops up. A male voice begins to speak.
“We were just calling you in reference to a post we believe you made on Instragram where you doxxed an ICE agent in January. We just wanted to talk to you about it. You’re not in any type of trouble.”
These are the words Paigelynne Gonyea of Syracuse, New York, heard on her voicemail. A phone call, followed by a visit to her workplace, came in quick succession.
“It honestly caught me completely off guard,” said Paigelynne, a self-described student and cooking enthusiast. Though she does not consider herself an activist, when faced with injustice, she will speak up. “I never expected federal agents to show up at my workplace because of something I posted online. It was intimidating, and it left me with a lot of questions.”
Speaking up—that is what led two Department of Homeland Security agents to visit her place of employment. Dressed in jeans and navy DHS jackets, the agents entered the polling place. One held a manila folder in his hand. Inside were printed pages—screenshots of her Instagram posts from January 2026. While they did not leave the folder behind, they did leave a printed form letter.
With the exception of her Instagram handle, the paper is impersonal—void of signatures or identifiable information. Even the space provided for the special agent’s name is blank. Despite its businesslike nature, one line stands out: “Receipt of this Notice will be taken into consideration should you continue to be involved in any criminal activities described above.”
“The warning centered on one of my Instagram posts. I disagree with the allegation that I intentionally doxxed anyone, as the post does not give out any information considered doxxing,” shared Paigelynne.
The post that triggered their visit is still active. It reads: “BREAKING: The ICE agent who shot Renee Good in broad daylight has been identified as Jonathan Ross by the Minnesota Star Tribune. I think today is a great day for Jonathan to be indicted.”
That is it. Those words, commenting on publicly accessible information, are the spark that ignited a phone call and a visit by DHS. Though the department alleged she posted his address, they have yet to provide evidence.
That day, the agents called the encounter “a warning.” Even the notice they presented mirrored that language. However, the situation has since escalated.
In a statement emailed to Syracuse.com by an anonymous spokesperson within the agency, they stated, “This individual committed a federal crime by posting the address of an ICE law enforcement officer online. Doxxing federal law enforcement officers is a federal crime that puts their lives and their families in danger.”
Note the wording: “committed a federal crime.” The criminality is assumed. Without trial or evidence, her guilt is a given—a verdict meted out devoid of judge or jury. Innocence, then, is not presumed, at least not when ICE is involved.
According to Paigelynne, she is not the first person to be visited by federal agents.
“One thing I think is worth mentioning is that after my story became public, another person reached out to me on social media. They told me they had received what appeared to be the same warning letter. After they shared a photo of the two agents from their Nest doorbell camera, I quickly recognized them as the same agents. I can’t independently verify the details of their situation, but hearing that made me wonder whether my experience wasn’t an isolated incident.”
After publishing this article, Syracuse.com published a second article. It confirms her account. While on a trip to Finland, two agents visited the home of David Streever in Rochester—same agents, same day. According to his wife, they were on his doorstep to deliver a letter. His offense? An email sent to Todd Lyons in January 2026.
It read:
“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.”
On returning to the States, David stayed in a hotel for a night. David told Syracuse.com that at 9:55 PM that evening, the front desk notified him that a special agent had come for him. He’d left his card when the hotel refused to confirm whether he was in.
Are these isolated incidents or part of a pattern? Time will tell. This, though, I can say with confidence: When free speech is infringed in one corner, it is threatened everywhere. This incident cannot be forgotten.
“Right now, my focus is on protecting my rights and letting the legal process play out,” shared Paigelynne. “Regardless of politics, I think it’s important that people can ask questions about government actions and have conversations about free speech without feeling intimidated.”
If you’d like to support her legal defense fund, you can contribute at https://gofund.me/7846c84aa. Follow her story on Instagram or Threads.
Let them take you to court. It is up to THEM to prove you were violating federal law, and freedom of speech is not a crime, and you did not doxx anyone - I didn't see an address on that post.
Do not obey.