A longtime FBI employee alleges in a federal lawsuit that he was fired for displaying a pride flag in his workspace. David Maltinsky, a 16-year veteran of the bureau, says he received a termination letter from FBI Director Kash Patel while training to become a special agent.
The letter cited Maltinsky’s “poor judgment” regarding an “inappropriate display of political signage,” according to The Washington Post.
Maltinsky was three weeks from graduating from the FBI Academy when he was fired. He is seeking reinstatement and back pay.
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The lawsuit alleges violations of Maltinsky’s First and Fifth Amendment rights. He argues that his firing chilled speech among LGBTQ+ employees and allies at the bureau, according to the complaint and his interviews with CBS News and The New York Times.
What the lawsuit says
Maltinsky claims that the flag was actually a gift from the bureau itself. The lawsuit states the FBI field office in Los Angeles awarded him two pride flags “in special recognition” of his diversity work following the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, in 2016.
According to the complaint, both Maltinsky’s supervisor and the field office’s chief division counsel had reviewed his display and confirmed it was permissible.
The situation escalated after a colleague filed a complaint in January, CBS News reported. Although Maltinsky says he removed the flag in June before leaving for training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, he was fired months later.
The New York Times reports that officials pulled him aside at the academy last month, just three weeks before his graduation, and presented him with the termination letter signed by Patel.
How the FBI and officials respond
The FBI declined to comment on the lawsuit.
In congressional testimony in September, Patel said the bureau’s personnel actions are based on “merit and qualification.”
“You fall short, you don’t work there anymore,” Patel reportedly said.
Maltinsky told CBS his firing triggered a “ripple effect of fear” inside the bureau, and told the Times that the move was “trying to stoke fear in the workplace — especially in the queer community at the FBI.”
The Times described Patel’s tenure as a “relentless purge” that has “sent shock waves” through the FBI. While administration officials argue these moves are necessary to “cleanse” the agency, critics contend that the firings are politically motivated.
The impact is widespread across the FBI and the Department of Justice. An advocacy group told CBS News that more than 5,000 employees have departed or been fired this year alone.
