A group of anonymous FBI employees has filed a class action lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging it violated their constitutional rights by gathering and potentially releasing information on employees who partook in investigations surrounding the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and the Mar-A-Lago classified documents case.
The lawsuit centers on a survey the employees say they were directed to fill out that identified their specific role in those cases.
“Plaintiffs assert that the purpose of this list is to identify agents to be terminated or to suffer other adverse employment action,” the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, reads.
The lawsuit claims, “Plaintiffs reasonably fear that all or parts of this list might be published by allies of President Trump, thus placing themselves and their families in immediate danger of retribution by the now pardoned and at-large Jan. 6 convicted felons.”
The lawsuit names nine “John and Jane Does” as plaintiffs and Acting Attorney General James McHenry as a defendant. The plaintiffs are seeking to bring the lawsuit on behalf of at least 6,000 current and former FBI employees.
They allege that the administration is violating the First Amendment, Fifth Amendment, and Privacy Act of 1974.
The lawsuit states, “Government employees are protected by the First Amendment from discrimination or retaliation based on their political beliefs or affiliation, or perception thereof.”
It goes on to say that the plaintiffs “reasonably believe and fear that the information gathered in the survey will also be used to target them for retaliatory discharge due to the Trump administrationโs perception of their loyalties.”
In addition to this class action, a second lawsuit has been filed by another group of seven unnamed FBI agents, along with the FBI Agents Association, also alleging retaliatory actions by the Justice Department. Both lawsuits focus on a survey FBI employees were reportedly instructed to fill out, identifying their roles in either the Jan. 6 investigations or the probe into Trump’s alleged possession of classified documents at Mar-A-Lago.
The first suit argues that the survey is designed “to identify agents and other FBI personnel to be terminated as a form of politically motivated retribution.” The agents claim they have been informed they are “likely to be terminated in the very near future” for their work on the cases involving Jan. 6 and Mar-A-Lago.
The lawsuit asserts, “They intend to represent a class of at least 6,000 current and former FBI agents and employees who participated in some manner in the investigation and prosecution of crimes and abuses of power by Donald Trump, or by those acting at his behest.”
Notably, Pamela Keith, a former Democratic candidate for Congress, has previously spread unfounded conspiracy theories on social media, including about Republican election results and the July 2024 assassination attempt against Trump.
The agents are seeking an injunction to prevent the Justice Department from “aggregating, storing, reporting, publishing, or disseminating any list or compilation of information that would identify FBI agents and other personnel and tie them directly to Jan. 6 and Mar-A-Lago case activities.”
The lawsuit also alleges that some of the agents’ personal information has already been posted by Jan. 6 convicted felons on the dark web, raising concerns about further exposure and potential threats to their safety.
The second lawsuit echoes these claims, specifically seeking protection from what it calls the Justice Departmentโs “anticipated retaliatory decision to expose their personal information for opprobrium and potential vigilante action by those who they were investigating.”
According to the complaint, “the very act of compiling lists of persons who worked on matters that upset Donald Trump is retaliatory in nature, intended to intimidate FBI agents and other personnel, and to discourage them from reporting any future malfeasance by Donald Trump and his agents.”
Both lawsuits seek immediate legal relief to block any further collection or dissemination of information about FBI agents involved in these high-profile investigations.
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