Twelve Former FBI Agents Sue Bureau and DOJ for Wrongful Termination After Kneeling During 2020 Protest
Twelve former FBI agents are suing the FBI and Justice Department, including Director Kash Patel, for wrongful termination after being fired for kneeling during a 2020 racial justice protest, alleging political weaponization.
Overview
Twelve former FBI agents, including counterterrorism specialists with nearly 200 years of combined experience, have filed a lawsuit against the FBI and Justice Department leaders.
The agents allege wrongful termination and unlawful retaliation after being fired in September 2020 for kneeling during a racial justice protest in Washington, D.C.
They claim their actions during a June 2020 protest near the National Archives were intended to de-escalate volatile situations and prevent deadly confrontations with hostile crowds.
The lawsuit targets FBI Director Kash Patel and DOJ, accusing them of political weaponization of government duties and inadequate equipment and training for civil unrest.
The agents are seeking reinstatement, backpay, monetary damages, and expungement of their personnel files, arguing their termination was unconstitutional and politically motivated.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame this story by largely adopting the perspective of the FBI agents filing the lawsuit. They emphasize the agents' professional backgrounds, the challenging and volatile circumstances of the 2020 protests, and the alleged political motivations behind their termination. This collective editorial choice highlights the agents' claims of wrongful dismissal and procedural shortcuts, portraying them as victims of retaliation.
Sources (11)
Center (5)
FAQ
The twelve former FBI agents were fired for kneeling during a racial justice protest in June 2020. They allege their kneeling was intended to de-escalate volatile situations and prevent deadly confrontations, but the FBI leadership later terminated them, which the agents claim was wrongful and politically motivated.
The agents allege wrongful termination, unlawful retaliation, political weaponization of government duties by FBI leadership including Director Kash Patel and the DOJ, as well as inadequate equipment and training for handling civil unrest. They argue their firing was unconstitutional and politically motivated.
FBI Director Kash Patel and the U.S. Justice Department are named as defendants in the wrongful termination lawsuit filed by the former agents.
Initially, under then-Director Christopher Wray, the FBI conducted a review and did not find grounds for disciplining the agents who knelt during the protest in 2020. However, the agents were later terminated under Director Kash Patel's leadership.
The FBI Agents Association stated that the firings have weakened the Bureau by eliminating valuable expertise, damaging trust between leadership and agents, and making it harder to recruit and retain skilled agents, ultimately putting national security at greater risk.
History
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