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Kash Patel fires FBI agent trainee for gay pride flag on his desk, calls it ‘inappropriate, poor judgement’
FBI chief Kash Patel said that the agent trainee “exercised poor judgment with an inappropriate display of political signage” in workplace.
FBI director Kash Patel on Wednesday local time reportedly fired an agent in training for displaying a gay pride flag on his desk during a previous assignment at a California field office.
The latest termination follows a series of high-profile firings by Patel in September, including more than a dozen FBI employees dismissed for taking a knee during crowd control in Washington DC, amid Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.
This also comes at a time when US President Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to remove what he calls “woke” ideology from the federal government.
The trainee, who had served as an FBI support specialist in Los Angeles, received a letter dated October 1 and signed by Patel. The letter accused him of displaying an improper “political” message at the workplace while under President Joe Biden’s administration, according to a copy of latter reviewed by MSNBC.
Kash Patel cites probationary status, poor judgment in letter
The letter mentioned President Trump’s Article II powers under the Constitution as the basis for dismissal—a rationale increasingly used in recent firings across the Department of Justice and the FBI, many of which are now facing legal challenges.
“After reviewing the facts and circumstances and considering your probationary status, I have determined that you exercised poor judgment with an inappropriate display of political signage in your work area during your previous assignment in the Los Angeles Field Office," Patel wrote, without specifically referencing the pride flag.
The letter continued: "You are being summarily dismissed from your position as a New Agent Trainee at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, and removed from the federal service."
The letter was issued on the first day of a nationwide government shutdown, which has created widespread uncertainty across the federal workforce with White House warning that administration officials are preparing for potential layoffs and “it's likely going to be in the thousands.”
