FBI has more than a dozen of its agents dismissed as bureau faces criticism over legality and morale amid sweeping personnel shake-up in the United States.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has dismissed more than a dozen agents who were photographed kneeling during a 2020 racial justice protest in Washington, D.C., according to multiple reports.
The agents were initially reassigned last spring, but their employment was formally terminated this week as part of a wider shake-up at the bureau under Director Kash Patel. The firings have reignited debate over the FBI’s internal culture and the lingering political fallout from the 2020 protests.
The kneeling incident took place during demonstrations that erupted nationwide after the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by a Minneapolis police officer. The agents were reportedly photographed taking a knee as a possible de-escalation tactic to calm crowds, not as a political gesture.
The FBI Agents Association, which represents current and former bureau employees, condemned the terminations, calling them “unlawful” and urging Congress to investigate.
“Rather than providing these agents with fair treatment and due process, Director Patel chose to again violate the law by ignoring these agents’ constitutional and legal rights,” the association said in a statement on Friday.
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The exact number of agents dismissed is unclear, with estimates ranging from 15 to 22. The firings are part of a broader effort by Patel to reshape the FBI, a process that has seen several senior officials removed in recent months.
Among those ousted were Steve Jensen, who helped oversee investigations into the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, and Brian Driscoll, a former acting FBI director who resisted Justice Department pressure to release the names of agents involved in those investigations.
A lawsuit filed by three former FBI supervisors alleges that Patel privately acknowledged concerns about the legality of the dismissals but said he was unable to block them due to pressure from the White House and Justice Department. Patel, however, denied taking direction from political leaders and told Congress last week that those terminated had failed to meet bureau standards.
An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on the dismissals. Critics say the move has further eroded morale inside the nation’s premier law enforcement agency and could discourage agents from taking initiative during future public crises.
Africa Daily News, New York
