The FBI has fired a group of its agents photographed kneeling on the street during a racial justice protest in Washington in 2020, in the aftermath of George Floyd's killing by police in Minneapolis, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.
The terminations came amid a spate of dismissals within the ranks of the nation's most prominent law enforcement agency since Kash Patel, a loyalist of President Donald Trump, was confirmed by the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate in February to lead the FBI.
It was not clear precisely how many FBI agents were terminated on Friday.
The FBI Agents Association, an advocacy group, issued a statement on Friday saying it "strongly condemns today's unlawful termination of more than a dozen FBI Special Agents," but made no mention of what may have precipitated their firings.
The three sources who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity put the number of terminations at between 15 and 22, with an unspecified portion being among those who came under fierce criticism from right-wing commentators for taking a knee during the demonstration.
The agents in question, pictured in photographs and videos of the incident that went viral, were not kneeling in a display of sympathy for the Black Lives Matter movement, as critics have suggested, but did so in a gesture to ease tensions between protesters and law enforcement, the sources said.
Some crowd-control measures employed during those protests were more aggressive. Officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets to clear demonstrators near the White House before Trump, then in his first term as president, walked across Lafayette Square to a nearby church and posed for photographs holding a Bible.
Earlier this month, former FBI acting director Brian Driscoll and two other former senior officials who were fired without cause in August sued the Trump administration, alleging they were dismissed in a "campaign of retribution" that targeted officials viewed as insufficiently loyal.
The lawsuit alleges that Patel said he had been ordered to fire anyone who had worked on a criminal investigation against Trump, and that his own job depended on their removal.
“The FBI tried to put the president in jail and he hasn’t forgotten it," Patel told Driscoll, according to the lawsuit.
Steve Jensen, the former assistant director of the Washington field office, and Spencer Evans, the former top official in the Las Vegas field office, are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
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Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 2nd of January, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Democrat Zohran Mamdani officially took office as New York City’s mayor on Thursday, beginning his term with a public swearing-in ceremony on the steps of City Hall.
Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of targeting civilians during New Year attacks, as intensified fighting coincided with U.S.-led efforts to push both sides towards ending the nearly four-year war.
Dozens of people are feared dead and around 100 others injured after an explosion tore through a crowded bar during New Year’s Eve celebrations at the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, authorities said.
At least 47 people were killed and 112 injured after a fire broke out at a crowded bar in the Swiss ski resort town of Crans-Montana during New Year’s Eve celebrations, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told Italian media on Thursday.
India has approved a major arms deal with Israel valued at approximately $8.7 billion, highlighting the deepening defence partnership between the two countries.
Russian athletes will not be allowed to represent their country at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics even if a peace deal is reached with Ukraine, International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said in an interview with an Italian newspaper.
India and Pakistan on Thursday exchanged lists of nuclear facilities as well as civilian prisoners, under long-standing bilateral agreements, according to official statements from both countries.
Yemen’s southern separatists have announced plans to hold a referendum on independence from the north within two years, a move likely to further escalate tensions as Saudi-backed government forces seek to retake territory seized by the group last month.
A 6.5-magnitude earthquake has struck the southern state of Guerrero in Mexico.
Suhail Shaheen, Afghanistan’s ambassador in Doha, has again urged the United Nations to transfer Afghanistan’s seat at the UN to the Taliban-led administration, arguing the current arrangement no longer reflects realities in the country.
Russian airstrikes have devasted apartment buildings in a residential area of Kharkiv, north-eastern Ukraine, injuring at least 25 people according to the local governor.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he would have a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday to discuss peace efforts between Ukraine and Russia as well as issues surrounding Gaza.
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