BY: DM
Published 16 seconds ago
FBI officials abruptly fired a new agent trainee from the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va., after discovering he had once displayed a Pride flag at his desk. In an Oct. 1 letter, FBI Director Kash Patel “summarily dismissed” the trainee, calling the flag an “inappropriate display of political signage.”
Agents immediately escorted the trainee out of training — a shocking turn for someone once considered an exemplary recruit. ABC News obtained the letter, which outlined Patel’s reasons for the termination.
Kash Patel claims the trainee violated FBI policy.
The fired trainee had spent over a decade as a support staffer in the Los Angeles field office, coordinating diversity programs and earning a 2022 Attorney General’s Award. While in training, he received a dismissal notice signed by Patel.
“After reviewing the facts and circumstances and considering your probationary status, I have determined you exercised poor judgment with an inappropriate display of political signage in your work area during your previous assignment at the Los Angeles Field Office,” Patel wrote. “Pursuant to Article II of the United States Constitution and the laws of the United States, your employment with the Federal Bureau of Investigation is hereby terminated.”
In the termination letter, Patel didn’t explicitly mention LGBTQIA+ Pride but described the small rainbow flag as improper propaganda. He cited President Donald Trump’s Article II executive powers to justify removing the trainee without the usual civil service due process. However, sources confirm to CNN that the “political signage” in question was a Pride flag the trainee had kept at his desk in 2024, before Trump’s administration began. FBI policy did not forbid such personal displays at the time — two former FBI officials told CNN that having a Pride flag on one’s desk “would not typically violate bureau policy.”
Will the fired FBI trainee pursue legal action?
Patel’s action came during a federal government shutdown, which meant the FBI’s public affairs did not respond to media inquiries. The timing also followed a pattern. Just days earlier, Patel fired several FBI employees who had been photographed kneeling during a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest, according to MSNBC. His decision overturned the previous FBI leadership’s finding that those agents hadn’t violated policy.
The trainee’s dismissal is already raising serious legal questions about government overreach and discrimination. While the FBI trainee has not been publicly identified and has yet to announce any legal action, there is still time. Others caught up in Patel’s personnel purge are already suing. Former federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, daughter of ex-FBI Director James Comey, filed a lawsuit after her own firing. She argued that her removal was politically motivated and unconstitutional, according to ABC News.
Additionally, federal employment guidelines protect workers’ rights to display certain personal symbols. In mid-2023, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management explicitly instructed agencies that if personal religious or secular items (like a Bible or family photo) are allowed on desks, a Pride flag should also be permitted. Civil rights law also bans discrimination based on sexual orientation or support for LGBTQIA+ causes.
Should government agencies be allowed to ban Pride symbols in the workplace? Comment below!
