A longtime FBI worker who says he was fired final month for hanging an LGBTQ+ Pleasure flag at his workspace has filed a lawsuit in federal courtroom.
David Maltinsky, a embellished intelligence specialist, spent 16 years working within the Los Angeles Subject Workplace and had accomplished almost 4 months of particular agent coaching when he acquired a letter signed by FBI Director Kash Patel telling him he had been “summarily dismissed” from the company for the “inappropriate display of political signage” at his workspace.
Maltinsky’s lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in the US District Courtroom for the District of Columbia, alleges that Patel unlawfully terminated Maltinsky and violated his rights to free speech and equal safety below the legislation. The go well with, first reported by CBS Information, additionally names Lawyer Basic Pam Bondi, the FBI and the Division of Justice as defendants.
Maltinsky mentioned within the go well with that he had displayed a Pleasure flag at his Los Angeles workplace workspace since 2021 after a particular agent had given him a number of flags in recognition of his work with the FBI’s variety initiatives.
In June 2021, FBI headquarters had licensed federal buildings throughout the nation to fly Pleasure flags beneath the American flag in recognition of LGBTQ+ Pleasure Month. The Los Angeles workplace had flown each a conventional rainbow Pleasure flag and a “Progress Pride” flag, which incorporates black, brown, pink, blue and white colours to characterize folks of shade and trans folks.
“From a young age, all I have wanted to do is serve my country and ensure its security alongside the brilliant and dedicated men and women of the FBI,” Maltinsky mentioned in an announcement to HuffPost.
“I displayed that Pride flag…not as a political statement, but as a symbol of inclusion, unity, and equal service. These are the values that once made the FBI strong. Now it is a place where people like me are targeted. I believe I was fired not because of who I am, but what I am: a proud gay man,” he continued.
The FBI didn’t instantly reply to HuffPost’s request for remark.
In April, Maltinsky started coaching to grow to be a particular agent, which he had dreamed about since he was a toddler. He accomplished 16 of the 19 weeks of coaching when he was knowledgeable that he was being fired, in line with the lawsuit.
Previous to his termination, Maltinsky was acknowledged for his dedication to enhancing variety and inclusion throughout the FBI. In 2020, he was awarded the FBI Director’s Award for Excellence, and in 2022, he acquired an award from the DOJ for his work in supporting the equal employment alternative program.
After a gunman killed 49 folks at Pulse, a homosexual nightclub in Orlando, Florida, Maltinsky raised his hand to assist the company improve its variety initiatives. As a homosexual man, he felt he had a duty to make the company extra inclusive for LGBTQ+ staff, in line with the lawsuit.
Throughout his tenure on the Los Angeles subject workplace, Maltinsky assisted brokers responding to cyberattacks by North Korea and traveled to Nigeria to help efforts to combat cybercrimes.
Shortly after Trump returned to workplace on Jan. 20, a Los Angeles FBI worker “reported an alleged concern” to Maltinsky’s supervisor concerning the flag. His boss knowledgeable him concerning the concern however famous that displaying the flag was “permissible and appropriate.” Maltinsky spoke to the chief authorized adviser to the Los Angeles workplace, who maintained that displaying the Pleasure flag didn’t violate any company insurance policies.
The lawsuit notes that the FBI permits staff to show other forms of flags, together with the Gadsden Flag, recognized for its rattlesnake and “Don’t Tread on Me” message, and the Punisher flag, with a black and white cranium. Each of those flags have been related to far-right and right-wing actions.
Maltinsky’s firing is a part of a sample of firings throughout the FBI by Patel — and extra broadly, by the Trump administration throughout the federal authorities. After Trump signed an government order to dismantle variety, fairness and inclusion applications in January, many individuals employed in DEI for the federal authorities — together with many girls, folks of shade and LGBTQ+ folks — misplaced their jobs.
Final month, former FBI official Michael Feinberg slammed Patel for firing Maltinsky, who at that time remained unnamed.
“What this employee was doing was not at all out of line, out of the norm or at all inappropriate,” Feinberg instructed MSNBC. “It’s absolute madness, and the fact that Kash Patel would go after this individual is lunacy.”
Arun Nevader through Getty Pictures
Maltinsky instructed CBS Information that after Trump was reelected, some LGBTQ+ FBI staff have been fearful that the administration would make a listing of staff who had self-selected their sexual orientation or gender identification. He mentioned that a lot of his homosexual colleagues and allies have since eliminated Pleasure flags.
The administration has since terminated lots of of staff whose backgrounds or actions critique Trump and his far-right, anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-DEI agenda. In February, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of nationwide intelligence, fired greater than 100 intelligence officers after far-right activist Chris Rufo posted screenshots of a non-public chat wherein staff mentioned matters round gender-affirming care, transition and polyamory. In September, the FBI fired no less than 15 brokers who have been photographed kneeling in the course of the 2020 protests after the police killing of George Floyd. The administration has additionally cracked down on brokers who have been accused of engaged on legal instances involving Trump.
Maltinsky’s attorneys mentioned in an announcement that this case speaks to a part of the Trump administration’s bigger purge of federal staff.
“This case is about far more than one man’s career—it’s about whether the government can punish Americans simply for saying who they are,” Christopher Mattei, Maltinsky’s lawyer, mentioned in an announcement. “David’s dream was to serve our country as an FBI Special Agent. When that dream was cruelly taken from him, he stayed true to his oath and is now fighting to protect the rights of all Americans.”
