Share this @internewscast.com
FBI Director Kash Patel dismissed a trainee on Wednesday for displaying a gay pride flag on his desk the previous year, based on a news report. This incident occurred while the trainee was located at a field office in California during President Joe Biden’s administration.
Patel issued a letter dated October 1st to the trainee, indicating that the flag constituted an improper ‘political’ display in the federal workplace. The termination letter cited President Donald Trump’s authority to dismiss bureaucrats working in the executive branch.
The letter, acquired by MSNBC, stated, “After reviewing the facts and circumstances and considering your probationary status, I have determined that you exercised poor judgment with an inappropriate display of political signage in your work area during your previous assignment in the Los Angeles Field Office.”
“You are being summarily dismissed from your position as a New Agent Trainee at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, and removed from the federal service.”
This letter was sent to the trainee coinciding with the start of the government shutdown, spreading uncertainty among federal employees.
It’s unclear how Patel became aware of the flag displayed a year earlier on the employee’s desk. The Daily Mail has contacted the FBI for a response, but the agency has not released any public statement regarding the issue to other media. CNN reported that the FBI employee was attending training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, when Patel’s dismissal letter was issued.
Previously, the trainee had worked in a FBI field office as a diversity program coordinator and has received multiple awards for service during his career. Two longtime FBI employees told CNN that displaying a pride flag historically would not result in a dismissal from the agency. Under Patel’s FBI, however, the norms are being rewritten.
Just 10 days after Trump took back the White House, DOJ Pride, an LGBT employee resource group, shut down in late January. The group’s closure came after the president signed an executive order looking to remove all DEI related programs from the federal bureaucracy.
Following the trainee’s removal, agents across the FBI began searching through social media to purge any and all messaging that could be considered critical to Trump or his supporters. Last week, Patel fired over a dozen FBI employees for kneeling in front of a DC crowd protesting the death of George Floyd.
The employees who bent the knee did so amid violent nationwide riots that shook the country. Previous FBI Director Christopher Wray, who tried to prosecute Trump during the 2024 election, concluded that the agents did not violate bureau policy.
