FBI fires agent trainee who displayed Pride flag, sources say

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Sept. 16. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

FBI Director Kash Patel has fired a longtime bureau employee who displayed a Pride flag in his workspace during a past assignment, according to multiple people familiar with the termination.

The employee was undergoing new agent training at the FBI’s academy in Quantico, Virginia, when he received a letter from Patel ordering his immediate dismissal.

In a previous non-agent role with the FBI, the employee, who received multiple awards for service during his career, had also been a field office diversity program coordinator and displayed a Pride flag at his workstation, sources said.

In notifying the individual of their dismissal, Patel did not specifically mention the Pride flag by name, but said the agent trainee was being summarily dismissed for past “poor judgment” and “an inappropriate display of political signage,” sources said.

Two FBI veterans told CNN displaying the flag at one’s desk historically would not violate any past FBI policy. However, since taking office, President Donald Trump has vowed to rid the federal government of what he calls “woke” ideology.

The FBI didn’t immediately return a request for comment from CNN.

The firing comes less than a week since Patel fired over a dozen other FBI employees who took a knee while conducting crowd control in 2020 after being confronted by a group of demonstrators in the nation’s capital. The act of taking a knee, which appeared to de-escalate the situation, drew sharp criticism from some conservatives, including people inside the FBI. Previous FBI Director Christopher Wray concluded that it did not violate bureau policy.

Since assuming office, Patel has fired or forced the resignation of numerous FBI personnel, including three senior executives who filed a lawsuit claiming their terminations were driven by the White House at the urging of Trump’s political allies.

By Josh Campbell, Jamie Gangel, CNN