FBI Director Kash Patel has fired agents who were photographed kneeling during a Black Lives Matter protest for George Floyd in 2020, the Associated Press reports.
Three people familiar with the matter confirmed the dismissals to the AP. Although they were unable to state the exact number of employees fired, two people said roughly 20 employees were affected. The agents had previously been reassigned last spring.
The photographs show the agents taking the knee during a protest held in solidarity for George Floyd, whose May 2020 murder at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin sparked a summer of protests against police violence and anti-Black racism.
Patel has been under immense pressure as head of the FBI, particularly following the bungled search for Charlie Kirk’s killer, which prompted the Trump administration to appoint a co-deputy director to serve under Patel alongside Dan Bongino.
Earlier this month, Patel was accused of firing multiple agents as part of a “campaign of retribution” pushed by the Trump administration. Three of the agents then filed a lawsuit alleging that they were removed from their roles because they had previously investigated President Donald Trump.
According to the suit, Patel allegedly understood that it was “likely illegal” to fire agents based on the cases they had previously worked on, but felt powerless to resist pressure being placed on him by the White House and the Department of Justice. At a fiery congressional hearing earlier this month, Patel denied taking orders from the White House.
In another sign of chaos at the beleaguered bureau, one of the FBI’s most prominent Black female agents quit last month, revealing in a scathing LinkedIn post that she felt forced out by a “leadership that did not want” her and an administration preoccupied with targeting supposed beneficiaries of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Decrying the Trump administration’s focus on DEI, L. Nicole Dunn wrote, “The FBI deals with threats on U.S. soil by building solid relationships with foreign partners. Those relationships are being steadily destroyed.“
“So WHEN the next attack happens, you should wonder what EXPERIENCED agents will be there to pick up the pieces, because there don’t appear to be many left to prevent it. The new leadership is focused on the wrong thing. Stop worrying about race & gender and focus on what really matters.”
