A dozen former FBI agents filed a federal civil lawsuit in Washington seeking reinstatement, alleging they were unlawfully fired earlier this year for kneeling on June 4, 2020, to help prevent violence after the killing of George Floyd. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and identifies the plaintiffs only as Jane and John Does.
The complaint says the agents were dismissed during a second Trump administration for actions taken when they confronted a tense crowd in Washington, D.C. The plaintiffs say they knelt as a deliberate, tactical move to de‑escalate confrontations as hostile individuals mixed with families and children, and that their conduct helped avert violence.
According to the filing, the Justice Department and FBI, acting at the direction of then‑FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi, terminated the agents based on perceived political affiliation — specifically a belief that the agents were “not affiliated with President Trump.” The suit says the agents had worn vests marked “FBI,” carried firearms and were told their role was to provide a visible law enforcement presence, but that they were not supplied crowd‑control gear such as riot shields, gas masks or helmets.
Mary Dohrmann, counsel for the plaintiffs, said internal FBI procedures were being subverted in ways that endanger public safety. An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on pending litigation.
The complaint further alleges that one plaintiff, identified as “Jane Doe 5,” was removed from a senior counterintelligence position at FBI Headquarters at Patel’s direction because she knelt on June 4. The suit points to statements and to Patel’s book, Government Gangsters, asserting his view that some government employees should be removed and replaced with people who will not “undermine the president’s agenda,” arguing those statements show a partisan motive rather than a neutral assessment of the June 4 events.
The 47‑page lawsuit is the latest of several legal challenges from former FBI officials who say Patel engaged in political retribution. Former acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll has sued over his termination, and another group of agents involved in the Capitol riot investigation has also filed suit. The plaintiffs in the current case include counterterrorism specialists and long‑tenured investigators who say they were neither trained nor equipped for crowd control and that kneeling was a measured step to protect civilians and officers.