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Federal Agents Confront Election Worker at Syracuse Polling Place over Instagram Post

HeadlineJun 26, 2026

In Syracuse, New York, two Homeland Security officers entered a voting site during Tuesday’s primary elections to request that a poll worker delete her Instagram account — over her call for the ICE agent who shot Renee Good in Minneapolis to face charges. Paigelynne Gonyea says the trouble began during her shift as an elections inspector at Syracuse’s Central Library, when she received this voicemail from a man identifying himself as Dave Brody, special agent with Homeland Security.

Dave Brody: “We were just calling you in reference to a post that we believe you made on Instagram where you doxxed an ICE agent back in January. We just wanted to talk to you about it. You’re not in any type of trouble.”

Gonyea believes the agent was referring to her January 8 Instagram post naming Jonathan Ross as the ICE agent who fatally shot Renee Good. It featured a still photo from a publicly available video of Ross taken moments after the shooting, and cited a Minneapolis Star Tribune report identifying him. The post concluded with the caption, “I think today is a great day for Jonathan to be indicted!”

Gonyea returned the missed call and agreed to meet agents inside the polling site, rather than face them outside alone. Two officers then arrived and handed her a form letter, warning, ”YOU MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW” and that “it is unlawful to threaten to assault, kidnap, and/or murder a federal official.” Gonyea has since refused to delete her Instagram post or shut down her account, and has set up a GoFundMe page to pay for potential legal expenses.

Paigelynne Gonyea: “The experience is intimidating, and I believe it’s important that election workers are able to do their jobs without feeling pressured or afraid. It’s also important for the protection of freedom of speech and civil liberties. And I want to note that the lack of professionalism with the form that was given to me was very concerning. If it hadn’t been confirmed that they were ICE agents, I would have believed it was a scam.”

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