The FBI has dismissed agents who were photographed kneeling during racial justice demonstrations in Washington following the 2020 killing of George Floyd, according to three people familiar with the matter, the associated press reported.The bureau had reassigned the agents last spring but has since terminated their employment, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. The exact number of firings was not clear, but two of the people estimated it to be about 20.Images from the protests showed FBI employees kneeling in apparent solidarity during nationwide demonstrations after Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. The killing, captured on video, triggered a national reckoning over policing and racial injustice.Meanwhile there is no official comment from FBI. The firings come as Director Kash Patel leads a broader personnel shake-up at the bureau. At least five agents and top-level executives were dismissed last month in what current and former officials describe as a wave of ousters that has lowered morale.Among those removed was Steve Jensen, who helped oversee investigations into the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Another, Brian Driscoll, served as acting FBI director in the early Trump administration and resisted Justice Department efforts to obtain names of agents involved in January 6 investigations. Chris Meyer, who was falsely linked online to the probe into Trump’s handling of classified documents, and Walter Giardina, who took part in high-profile cases such as the investigation of Trump adviser Peter Navarro, were also dismissed.In a lawsuit, Jensen, Driscoll and former FBI supervisor Spencer Evans alleged that Patel acknowledged he understood it was “likely illegal” to fire agents based on the cases they handled but said he was powerless to stop the removals because the White House and Justice Department were determined to eliminate those who had investigated Trump.Patel, testifying before Congress last week, denied receiving direction from the White House on personnel decisions and insisted that those dismissed “failed to meet the FBI’s standards.”(With inputs from AP)
