FBI Fires Agents Who Kneel During 2020 George Floyd Protests
About 20 agents were terminated amid a broader leadership shakeup overseen by FBI Director Kash Patel.
WASHINGTON — The FBI has fired agents who were photographed kneeling during a racial justice protest in Washington that followed the death of George Floyd in May 2020, three people familiar with the matter said Friday. The photographs showed a group of agents taking a knee in apparent solidarity during one of the demonstrations.
Those agents had been reassigned last spring, but the bureau has since terminated them, the people said. The number of employees fired was not immediately clear, but two people said it was roughly 20. The firings come amid a broader personnel purge as FBI Director Kash Patel reshapes the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency.
Five agents and top-level executives were known to have been summarily fired last month in the same purge, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. Among those known to have been terminated are Steve Jensen, who helped oversee investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol; Brian Driscoll, who served as acting FBI director in the early days of the Trump administration and resisted Justice Department demands to supply the names of agents who investigated Jan. 6; Chris Meyer, who was the subject of social media rumors about involvement in the investigation into President Donald Trump’s classified documents at Mar-a-Lago; Walter Giardina, who participated in high-profile investigations like the Navarro case; and Spencer Evans, a fired FBI supervisor.
A lawsuit filed by Jensen, Driscoll and Evans alleged that Patel communicated that he understood that it was “likely illegal” to fire agents based on cases they worked but was powerless to stop it because the White House and the Justice Department were determined to remove all agents who investigated Trump. Patel denied at a congressional hearing last week taking orders from the White House on whom to fire and said anyone who has been fired failed to meet the FBI’s standards.
People familiar with the matter described the purge as a deliberate effort by Patel to reshape the bureau after years of internal scrutiny, congressional probes and political pressure surrounding investigations tied to former President Trump. Observers say the moves raise questions about the agency’s independence and risk politicization of personnel decisions.
Patel and FBI officials have said the agency remains focused on its core duties, including counterterrorism, cybercrime and public safety, and that staffing decisions are driven by standards and performance. However, the changes have contributed to morale concerns inside the bureau, according to current and former officials. Officials say the FBI continues to pursue its mission amid leadership turnover, while lawmakers monitor the bureau’s direction amid broader political scrutiny.
