The Federal Bureau of Investigation has fired as many as 20 FBI agents, including a group associated with a 2020 incident in which agents were photographed kneeling with demonstrators at the height of protests over the police killing of George Floyd, two people briefed on the matter said.
The latest round of dismissals at the bureau came at the end of a review by the FBI’s inspection division and recommendations evaluated by the bureau’s general counsel’s office, one person briefed on the matter said. As many as 20 people were terminated in the latest round of ousters, including about 15 associated with the kneeling incident, according to the sources.
The FBI declined to comment on the firings.
The kneeling incident in Washington, DC, gained notoriety inside the FBI and drew criticism particularly in conservative media and among some retired agents. It occurred in the summer of 2020 — during the height of protests over racism and heavy-handed policing tactics following Floyd’s death — after a group of agents were confronted by a group of protesters.
President Donald Trump had urged then-Attorney General Bill Barr to regain control of the streets. Barr ordered the FBI and other agencies to deploy agents to help with crowd control and protect federal buildings.
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