The Price of empathy: FBI agents fired for standing with racial justice protesters

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reportedly fired several of its agents for showing respect to protesters against racial injustice in 2020.

According to the Associated Press, informed sources stated that the FBI dismissed several agents who were photographed kneeling in front of protesters in Washington during demonstrations following the killing of George Floyd, an African American citizen, by Minneapolis police in Minnesota.

These sources said that the agents were dismissed in the spring of last year. The exact number of dismissed agents is unclear, but some sources estimate it to be around 20.

In the photos, a group of agents can be seen kneeling at one of the protests after Floyd’s death in May 2020. Floyd’s killing sparked a national reckoning on policing and racial injustice, and millions of people who saw the video of his arrest were outraged across the United States.

While the kneeling angered some within the FBI, it was also seen as a potential tactic to reduce tension during a period of protests.

The FBI Agents Association released a statement yesterday saying that more than 12 agents, including military veterans with additional legal protections, had been fired, calling the move illegal.

The association urged the U.S. Congress to investigate, saying that the dismissals were further evidence of Director Kash Patel’s disregard for the legal rights of FBI employees.

The association stated: “Wray has repeatedly said that no one is above the law, yet instead of treating these agents fairly and following proper legal procedures, he chose to violate their fundamental and legal rights.”

An FBI spokesperson declined to comment.

These firings come amid a broader staff purge as Patel seeks to reshape the nation’s top federal law enforcement agency.

Last month, five senior FBI agents and managers were fired, which current and former officials said had lowered morale among staff.

Steve Jensen, one of the fired individuals, had overseen investigations into the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Another, Brian Driscoll, served as acting FBI director in the early days of the Trump administration and resisted DOJ requests to provide names of agents investigating the January 6 case.

In a lawsuit filed by Jensen, Driscoll, and another dismissed supervisor, it was alleged that Patel acknowledged that firing agents based on the cases they had worked on was “likely illegal,” but claimed he could not stop it because the White House and DOJ were determined to remove all agents investigating Trump.

During a congressional hearing last week, Patel denied receiving orders from the White House to fire these individuals, asserting that anyone dismissed had failed to meet FBI standards.