The FBI fired an agent kneeling and taking photos with protesters in Washington during a 2020 racial justice protest after George Floyd’s death
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The FBI fired an agent who was kneeling and taking photos with protesters in Washington during the 2020 racial justice protest after George Floyd’s death. Several media outlets report this.
The exact number of agents fired is unknown, but multiple outlets reported that they could be over 20. The Washington Post reported that the shooting included a senior FBI official.
An FBI spokesman declined to comment on Saturday.
In a statement to ABC News, the Association of FBI Agents, a nonprofit advocacy group representing the department’s employees, indicated that more than a dozen agents, some of whom were military veterans, have been fired. The statement denounced the termination as “illegal” and said it “violated the agent’s due process rights,” making it even more difficult to recruit and retain agents.
The agent went to his knees at a demonstration in Washington, DC on June 4, 2020. Angry protesters – surpassing agents – urged them to kneel after exceeding agents. According to CNN, members of the National Guard had previously kneeled during the protest in a similar situation.
President Donald Trump urged then-President General Bill Barr to regain control of the streets. Barr ordered the FBI and other agencies to deploy agents to help control and protect federal buildings.
Photos of the kneeling agent have been flooded social media. Critics declared evidence of the FBI’s liberal bias.
After an internal review, the department’s leadership determined that the agent had not violated any particular policies and that no disciplinary action was required.
FBI Director Kash Patel vowed to eradicate political bias within the FBI, causing waves of termination, forced departures, resignations and demonstrations.
Former acting FBI director Brian Driscoll Jr. and two other exiled FBI officials Stephen Jensen and Spencer Evans filed a 68-page lawsuit earlier this month, alleging that they were illegally fired in an effort to turn the agency into a White House arm. The lawsuit, filed against Patel, FBI Attorney General, Attorney General Pam Bondy, the Justice Department and the Trump administration, alleges that their dismissal was politically motivated retaliation and violated constitutional and legal rights.
Patel denied that the shooting was politically motivated.
He told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week that everyone he fired from the FBI had not met the department’s standards so far.
Sarah D. Wire wrote in USA Today about real people being influenced by the federal government. She can contact swirre@usatoday.com
