Now, twelve former FBI agents have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice. They are advocating to get their jobs back after being fired for kneeling during a racial justice demonstration in Washington, D.C. on June 4, 2020. The agents were called in to help patrol the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., amid the civil unrest that erupted after George Floyd was killed by the police. They would claim that their stated purpose was to calm the discord, not to take a political stand.
The original complaint points out that the agents who kneeled did so right on the edge of the crowd. They played this card in a failed attempt to defuse the angry mood. The plaintiffs maintain that it was their actions that brought about the peaceful dispersal of the protesters. They’re confident their quick actions prevented shots from being fired, and lives were saved as a result. The agents claim that their decision has been misrepresented. Then they explain that it was not a political statement but a tactical response designed to ensure that order was maintained.
Now, in recent months, many of these agents have seen the cataclysmic fallout from their firings. As we reported last spring, several agents subsequently lost their supervisory jobs. They did so as a public disciplinary investigation that largely focused on their response to that protest. This new FBI director, Kash Patel, went for broke in September. He derided everyone connected to the probe, ending it with a stunning flourish.
The complaint makes plain that the agents’ kneeling was not for political reasons. It states, “Each Plaintiff kneeled for apolitical tactical reasons to defuse a volatile situation, not as an expressive political act.” While that may sound like a technical point, this assertion is key to the agents’ argument. They think they were wrongfully penalized for their actions taken in a time of national uproar.
The plaintiffs are a part of the reshuffled movement of 22 agents from multiple squads within D.C. They maintain that their termination was merely the last shot in a civil service larger personnel purge, initiated by Patel. This purge served to create a more politically conformist FBI, purging anyone who was perceived as aligned politically with former President Trump’s adversaries. The lawsuit describes this dismissal as a “partisan effort to retaliate against FBI employees” who did not align with the current leadership’s views.
The Department of Justice’s inspector general has already raised some serious alarm. They’re most concerned about the way these agents were put in harm’s way during the insurrection that day. They saw that the department had placed the agents in an impossible position. This nightmare scenario exemplifies the impossible situation law enforcement faces during periods of civil unrest.
The lawsuit articulates that the kneeling was “the most tactically sound means to prevent violence and maintain order.” The plaintiffs assert that they demonstrated “tactical intelligence” by choosing between using deadly force—a last resort given their limited crowd control equipment—and opting for a less-than-lethal response that preserved lives.
“Plaintiffs were performing their duties as FBI special agents, employing reasonable de-escalation to prevent a potentially deadly confrontation with American citizens: a Washington Massacre that could have rivaled the Boston Massacre in 1770.” – plaintiffs’ lawsuit
The legal challenge continues to seek reinstatement. It addresses broader concerns of accountability and political influence within the FBI. This personnel purge has been felt among high-ranking officials, but line agents. This shift has generated significant division within the agency and led to speculation about its future path under Patel’s leadership.