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On Friday, at least 15 FBI agents were dismissed due to their conduct during the protests following George Floyd’s death, as reported by an insider to NBC News.
The agents were on duty to protect federal properties amid the demonstrations when a confrontation arose between many protesters and fewer FBI officers. Some agents were seen kneeling, a move the source said was intended to calm the situation.
The 2020 nationwide protests were sparked by the death of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for over nine minutes. The incident, recorded on video, ignited calls for racial equality and policing reforms.
The FBI has refrained from commenting on the dismissals due to personnel issues. The FBI Agents Association released a statement condemning the dismissals as “unlawful” and a violation of the agents’ “due process rights.” The Association argued that these agents risk their lives for national security.
The association sharply criticized Patel, accusing him of breaking the law with these and other firings at the FBI in recent months.
“True leaders follow the law rather than flouting it. They honor due process instead of avoiding it,” stated the FBIAA. The Association criticized Patel’s actions, saying they damage the FBI by losing qualified personnel, eroding trust, harming recruitment efforts, and subsequently increasing national risk.
The dismissals occurred shortly after three former senior FBI officials filed a lawsuit against Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi, claiming their firings were to align with President Donald Trump’s interests.
One of them, former acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll, said in August that he was not given a reason for his termination, though he served the agency for almost 20 years.
Earlier this year, Driscoll spoke out against the Trump administration’s efforts to fire agents who had worked on cases involving participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
At the time, Driscoll said he’d also refused a request from senior administration officials to provide a list of every FBI employee who investigated Jan. 6 rioters.
One of the president’s first executive orders at the start of his second term was to pardon roughly 1,500 criminal defendants who had been charged for their role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
During testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month, Patel defended the firings. He said the FBI “will only bring cases that are based in fact and law and have a legal basis to do so, and anyone that does otherwise will not be employed at the FBI.”
