FBI Terminates Agents for Kneeling During BLM Protests

(MENAFN) The FBI has terminated a group of agents who were photographed kneeling during the 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrations in Washington, according to various U.S. news organizations.

The dismissals reportedly involve between 15 and 20 staff members, including several military veterans, who were accused of violating bureau policies, as reported by various media outlets on Friday.

The event occurred in June 2020, shortly after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where a police officer pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes.

Floyd’s death sparked widespread protests across the United States and beyond under the BLM movement, with the act of kneeling becoming a symbolic gesture of solidarity.

At that time, photos circulated showing FBI agents kneeling on the street amid a tense standoff with protesters in Washington, DC. Critics inside and outside the agency accused the agents of exhibiting political partiality.

However, supporters argued the kneeling was a tactic meant to de-escalate tensions and prevent violence.

Many of the Black Lives Matter protests were marked by rioting, looting, arson, and confrontations between Antifa and right-wing counter-demonstrators, leaving sections of major cities in turmoil.

Although strict Covid-19 restrictions remained in place nationwide, mass gatherings advocating racial justice were widely supported by President Donald Trump’s political opponents as “mostly peaceful” demonstrations of free speech.

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