A group of former FBI special agents, focused on counterintelligence and counterterrorism, have taken legal action against FBI Director Kash Patel and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. In their anonymous lawsuit, they argue that their dismissals infringed upon their First and Fifth Amendment rights.

Filed in a federal court in Washington, D.C., the lawsuit involves nine Jane Does and three John Does. These agents assert that their termination was unjustified, stemming from their decision to adopt a “kneeling posture” during the chaotic protests following George Floyd’s murder by Derek Chauvin. This choice, they claim, was a deliberate effort to avoid escalating the volatile situation into violence, akin to the infamous Boston Massacre.

The lawsuit draws a historical parallel, comparing the agents’ restraint to a pivotal moment in American history. “The volatile situation was comparable to another critical moment from our nation’s Founding: the Boston Massacre. But Plaintiffs did not repeat the mistakes of the British soldiers who fearfully fired their weapons into a crowd of dissenting Americans in 1770. Instead, finding their backs to a wall, Plaintiffs remained calm,” the suit states. Opting to kneel, a gesture seen as a de-escalation tactic during the national unrest period, they aimed to protect lives and maintain peace.

The agents argue that their decision to kneel was effective in calming the situation. An internal review at the time supported their actions, finding them in line with FBI policy. However, the lawsuit contends that years later, in 2025, the Department of Justice led by Bondi and the FBI under Patel sought to alter the narrative, resulting in the agents’ termination.

The complaint highlights that despite a review initiated by Patel not finding fault with the agents’ decisions from June 2020, they were nevertheless dismissed. This was communicated through standardized, single-page letters citing “unprofessional conduct and a lack of impartiality” as the reasons, suggesting a political motive behind their terminations.

It was not the agents who decided to kneel, but the defendants who “are weaponizing government for political reasons,” the plaintiffs added.

“Defendants’ conduct in terminating Plaintiffs reflects an astounding lack of professionalism and lack of impartiality by the government and violates Plaintiffs’ constitutional rights under the First and Fifth Amendments,” the suit said.

Three months ago, Patel and Bondi were hit with a separate lawsuit filed by fired FBI officials claiming they were casualties of President Donald Trump’s political “retribution” campaign — by the FBI director’s own alleged admission.

“[Patel] explained he had to fire the people his superiors told him to fire, because his ability to keep his own job depended on the removal of the agents who worked on cases involving the President. Patel explained that there was nothing he or [Brian] Driscoll could do to stop these or any other firings, because ‘the FBI tried to put the President in jail and he hasn’t forgotten it,’” the September complaint said. “Driscoll indicated his belief that Patel’s reference to his superiors meant DOJ and the White House, and Patel did not deny it.”

Read the latest lawsuit here.