The Federal Bureau of Investigation has fired as many as 20 FBI agents, including a group associated with a 2020 incident in which agents were photographed kneeling with demonstrators at the height of protests over the police killing of George Floyd, two people briefed on the matter said.
The latest round of dismissals at the bureau came at the end of a review by the FBI’s inspection division and recommendations evaluated by the bureau’s general counsel’s office, one person briefed on the matter said. As many as 20 people were terminated in the latest round of ousters, including about 15 associated with the kneeling incident, according to the sources.
The FBI declined to comment on the firings.
The FBI Agents Association in a statement to CNN criticized FBI Director Kash Patel’s leadership and said the dismissals “violate the due process rights” of the agents.
“Patel’s dangerous new pattern of actions are weakening the Bureau because they eliminate valuable expertise and damage trust between leadership and the workforce, and make it harder to recruit and retain skilled agents—ultimately putting our nation at greater risk,” the organization said.
The kneeling incident