Twelve fired FBI agents are alleging that they were unlawfully sacked because they knelt during a racial justice protest in Washington DC five years ago.
In a recently filed lawsuit, the former agents argue that their decision to kneel – adopting a gesture used by demonstrators – helped to deescalate a tense protest situation in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd.
The agents believe they were fired on the orders of FBI boss Kash Patel, who is named as a defendant.
Their termination letters accused them of “a lack of impartiality” in their duties, they say. The FBI has declined to comment on the case.
The dozen sacked agents – nine women and three men – say they had been “confronted by a mob” when deployed in the US capital city on 4 June 2020, and were responding to a “dangerous situation” for which they were ill-prepared.
The killing of Floyd, a black man, by a white police officer in Minneapolis had sparked protests across the US and in cities around the world just days earlier.
Amid a febrile atmosphere during the protest in the US capital city, the plaintiffs made what was a “considered tactical decision” to take a knee, the group said in their legal filing, which gave their account of events.
They said they “avoided triggering violence by assuming a kneeling posture” which had been used to lessen tensions “between law enforcement officers and their communities during this period of national unrest”.
They say their actions were reviewed at the time by both the FBI and the Department of Justice, of which the FBI is a part. They highlighted that their dismissal letters came more than five years after the incident.
The agents are seeking reinstatement in their positions and back pay.
In their complaint, the ex-agents said they had been “targeted” because their choice of tactics on that day had led to a “perceived lack of affiliation” with President Donald Trump, who was in office during the protests.
During his tenure leading the FBI, Patel has been accused of a wider crackdown on personnel perceived to be disloyal to his ally Trump. He has previously denied accusations that his sackings at the agency have been politically motivated.
Amid recent speculation regarding his future at the top of the agency, the White House said Patel was “a critical member of the president’s team and he is working tirelessly to restore integrity to the FBI.”
The civil case from the 12 former agents, which was filed in the District of Columbia, comes after former FBI acting director Brian Driscoll and others filed a lawsuit of their own, alleging that they too had been terminated in an act of political retribution.
