Former operatives say they were fired for their work investigating Trump’s efforts to stay in power after his 2020 election loss.
Published March 31, 2026
Three former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents have filed a class action lawsuit alleging they were wrongfully fired in retaliation for their work in the United States.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, is the latest legal challenge to efforts under President Donald Trump to purge federal law enforcement officials.
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The three agents involved, Michelle Ball, Jamie Garman and Blair Tallman, claim their employment was terminated as a result of their work on an investigation into President Trump’s efforts to remain in power after his loss in the 2020 election.
FBI career agents are nonpartisan employees. The three plaintiffs argued that their agents did not have to show “loyalty to any political party, movement, or person.”
“Serving the American people as FBI agents has been the greatest honor of our lives,” the agents said in a statement.
“We have sworn to uphold the Constitution and follow the facts wherever they lead, never compromising our integrity. Being removed from federal service without due process and based on a false perception of political bias is a grave injustice that raises serious concerns about political interference in federal law enforcement.”
Each of the former agents had between eight and 14 years of experience with the FBI.
In their 48-page complaint, they describe their abrupt firings in October and November as a “retaliatory campaign” under the Trump administration.
The complaint says they received a termination letter signed by FBI Director Kash Patel “baselessly accusing them of ‘weaponizing’ their positions in the government.”
The three agents had been assigned to provide FBI assistance to the investigation led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, the independent counsel appointed to investigate President Trump’s actions.
As a result of that investigation, Trump was indicted in 2023 for participating in an illegal effort to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Smith ultimately dropped the case, along with another lawsuit focused on President Trump’s retention of classified documents, after the Republican leader was reelected to a second term in 2024. The Justice Department has an internal policy that prohibits prosecuting a sitting president.
Smith also resigned before Trump took office as president in January 2025.
But since returning to the White House, Trump has faced criticism for seeking retaliation against officials involved in policies with which he disagrees.
“President Trump has made clear that he expects federal law enforcement leaders to exact retaliation upon his return to office,” Tuesday’s complaint alleges.
Independent members of the FBI and Justice Department who were involved in Mr. Smith’s work have had their jobs cut in the wake of Trump’s inauguration.
But Tuesday’s class action lawsuit (PDF) could pave the way for more employees fired for perceived dishonesty to return to work.
The complaint alleges that by accusing the agents of “weaponizing” the FBI, the Trump administration not only damaged their individual reputations, but the reputations of all law enforcement officers in similar situations.
“This false and defamatory public slander tarnished the professional reputations of Plaintiffs and the proposed class participants and suggested that they were anything other than loyal, apolitical law enforcement officers,” the lawsuit claims.
In December, a group of 12 former FBI employees also sued the agency, alleging they were wrongfully fired for kneeling during 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.
