Several FBI agents who knelt during a 2020 protest following the death of George Floyd have been reassigned to lower-profile roles, in what many inside the bureau view as a quiet demotion. The agents, part of a unit assigned to protect federal buildings and monuments, had taken a knee in front of demonstrators in an apparent gesture of solidarity, mirroring actions taken by some National Guard units at the time.
The incident sparked internal backlash within the FBI once photos of the kneeling agents were made public. While the agency has not issued an official statement regarding the personnel changes, sources report that the agents were moved to positions considered significantly less desirable.
The reassignments reflect a broader effort by the Trump administration to remove politically driven or ideologically biased personnel from federal agencies. The FBI, under new Director Kash Patel, is undergoing a sweeping internal review aimed at restoring public trust and depoliticizing the agency’s operations.
Patel, a Trump ally and former national security official, has prioritized accountability and transparency since assuming leadership of the bureau. He has pledged to downsize the FBI’s Washington, D.C. presence and cut staff while pursuing agents believed to have pushed political agendas during prior investigations.
The Department of Justice is concurrently reviewing over 1,500 FBI agents connected to sensitive political cases, including the 2022 Mar-a-Lago raid and investigations related to the January 6 Capitol incident. These reviews form part of a larger strategy to root out what many in the Trump administration see as entrenched ideological activism within law enforcement.
Under Patel’s leadership, the FBI has seen a surge in new agent applications, receiving over 10,000 since January—a record high. The uptick signals public confidence in the bureau’s current direction as it distances itself from controversial decisions and conduct during previous administrations.
