The FBI has dismissed agents who were seen kneeling in a photograph during a racial justice protest in Washington. This protest was part of the widespread demonstrations that occurred following the 2020 death of George Floyd, according to three individuals with knowledge of the situation.
The bureau had reassigned the agents last spring but has since fired them, said the sources who insisted on anonymity to discuss personnel matters.
The number of FBI employees fired was not immediately clear, but two people said it was roughly 20.
The controversial images captured a group of agents taking a knee during one of the many protests that erupted after Floyd’s death in May 2020. His killing ignited widespread anger and brought national attention to issues of policing and racial inequity, especially after the video of his arrest went viral.
However, this decision coincides with a larger push by President Donald Trump’s newly appointed FBI Director, Kash Patel, to eliminate what has been described as ‘woke’ and politically charged influences within the organization.
Recently, five agents and executives at the top levels found themselves abruptly dismissed in a series of firings that, according to current and former officials, has been demoralizing for the bureau’s workforce.
One of those, Steve Jensen, helped oversee investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol.
In addition, Brian Driscoll, who took on the role of acting director during the initial phase of the Trump administration, stood against Justice Department pressures to reveal the identities of agents involved in the January 6 investigation.
Reports confirm that the FBI terminated agents seen kneeling in a racial justice protest in Washington, which took place after George Floyd’s death in 2020, according to three knowledgeable sources.
A third, Chris Meyer, was incorrectly rumored on social media to have participated in the investigation into Trump´s retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
A lawsuit filed last week by three of the fired agents alleged that Patel understood that the firings were ‘likely illegal’ but had to carry them out because he was ordered to do so from the White House.
Patel has denied taking orders from the White House on whom to fire and has said anyone who has been fired failed to meet the FBI’s standards.
Some who worked on criminal cases against Trump and led field offices across the country have reportedly also been removed from their positions, often without any reason, according to the Washington Post.
When reached by The Daily Mail, a spokesperson for the FBI declined comment.
Yet some former FBI officials told CNN they worry that the recent staff changes are a sign that the bureau is bypassing its regular disciplinary process – as the agents have previously been found to have done nothing wrong.
‘This notion that the bureau would go after these people, it’s just disgusting,’ a former official told CNN.
Five agents and top-level executives were known to have been summarily fired last month in a wave of ousters that current and former officials say has contributed to declining morale. One of those, Steve Jensen (pictured), helped oversee investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol
Another, Brian Driscoll (pictured), served as acting director in the early days of the Trump administration and resisted Justice Department demands to supply the names of agents who investigated Jan. 6
The agents in question had been based in DC when former police officer Derek Chauvin was filmed kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as he cried out that he couldn’t breathe.
The viral incident sparked mass protests across the country that at times turned violent and left cities vandalized.
As the protests continued, Trump – who was in his first term in office – urged then-Attorney General Bill Barr to regain control of the streets.
Barr, in turn, ordered the FBI and other agencies to help with crowd control and to protect federal monuments.
But FBI agents are not generally trained to do crowd control, and deploying them to face off against the demonstrators raised concerns about a possible deadly confrontation.
On the day of the kneeling photo, some of the agents recalled a recent incident in which National Guard soldiers handled a similar confrontation and decided to take a knee in an effort to de-escalate tensions.
The plan worked, and the protesters moved on.
But when the picture was published, some of the agents were ostracized and personally attacked by their peers, according to CNN.
Some senior officials at the agency even believed the women involved put themselves and their team at a tactical disadvantage.
Top officials then reviewed the incident, and ultimately found that no disciplinary action was necessary ‘because there was no violation of policy that they could point to.’
‘What the bureau asked those agents to do is go out on foot patrol, something they were never trained to do. They were asked to be police officers,’ a former official told CNN.
‘In no way were they making a political statement.’
A 2024 report from the Department of Justice’s inspector general also found that the FBI deployments to protect the monuments ‘lacked adequate planning’ and ‘failed to provide sufficient guidance to personnel regarding their mission and legal authorities.’
It also said that ‘by sending armed agents to respond to civil unrest for which they lacked the proper training or equipment, created safety and security risks for the agents and the public.’
