00:02Twelve former FBI agents filed a federal lawsuit seeking reinstatement after being fired in September by Director Kash Patel.
00:10They claim their termination stemmed not from misconduct, but from a split-second tactical decision during the 2020 George Floyd protests.
00:19Later portrayed as politically disloyal to President Trump, News.com reports.
00:23The lawsuit centers on an incident from June 4, 2020, when the agents were deployed to downtown Washington, D.C., amid nationwide protests following the killing of George Floyd.
00:34Floyd, a black man, died on May 25, 2020, after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for about nine minutes during an arrest.
00:44Chauvin was later convicted of murder and sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison.
00:48According to the complaint, the FBI agents were assigned patrol duties during the protests, despite lacking protective equipment and formal crowd control training.
00:57When surrounded by an agitated crowd chanting, take a knee, the agents knelt briefly, a move they say diffused the situation and allowed the crowd to disperse without violence.
01:07At the time, the kneeling drew no disciplinary action.
01:10The lawsuit states that an internal FBI review and a Justice Department inspector general investigation found the agents acted without political intent.
01:20The inspector general also criticized leadership for putting them in a volatile situation without proper preparation.
01:32According to the lawsuit, the agents' status shifted after Kash Patel became FBI director in February 2025.
01:38Several were removed from supervisory roles, and a new disciplinary investigation was launched.
01:44In September, termination letters cited unprofessional conduct and a lack of impartiality, accusing them of enabling the political weaponization of government.
01:54The lawsuit argues that the terminations were unconstitutional and politically motivated.
01:59It compares the agents' decision to historical crisis management, stating they acted to prevent a potentially deadly confrontation with American citizens.
02:06The complaint adds that the agents chose a less-than-lethal response that would save lives and keep order.
02:13According to reports, the plaintiffs are seeking reinstatement, back pay, monetary damages, expungement of disciplinary records,
02:21and a court declaration that their terminations violated the Constitution.
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