Former FBI analyst alleges White House pushed probe of Los Angeles protesters

Left · 2Jill Fields, a former supervisory intelligence analyst in the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, has filed a whistleblower complaint with Senate Judiciary Committee leaders alleging that the Trump administration pushed the FBI to investigate Los Angeles protesters in violation of their constitutional rights and the bureau's policies. 1 2 Left · 2The complaint concerns the federal response to anti-ICE protest activity around federal buildings and in a residential area early last year; Fields says it violated protesters' First Amendment rights to free speech and to assemble, and she asked Congress and the Justice Department's inspector general to investigate. 1 2 Left · 2Fields says Emil Bove, then the acting deputy attorney general, told the head of the Los Angeles field office to open an investigation into activity outside the federal building, even though she considered it protected speech. 1 2

Left · 2Separately, she alleges the White House directed FBI Director Kash Patel to investigate protesters who used megaphones to alert residents to immigration operations, explain their legal rights and urge them not to open doors without signed judicial warrants; she says FBI agents had already checked that conduct and declined to open a case. 1 2 Left · 2According to the attorneys' letter, President Donald Trump had viewed a video of the megaphone protesters, and a person whose name is redacted told Fields an investigation would be opened because "the President wants this investigation." 1 2 Left · 1Fields also alleges the Los Angeles office pulled agents off active cartel cases to produce what a supervisor called "optics" designed to "make a show for the president." 1

Left · 1She says supervisors were told not to put directives in writing, so many came in face-to-face meetings, and that she does not know whether a formal investigation was opened because she was excluded once she refused to participate. 1 Left · 2A senior FBI official in charge of privacy and civil liberties reportedly expressed dismay and later said she planned to resign; Fields also resigned after being told she would be removed from heading three programs, which she believes was retaliation for protected internal disclosures. 1 2 Left · 1The letter says the FBI's actions "created a chilling effect within the workforce" and signaled that raising constitutional or legal concerns could carry professional consequences. 1

Left · 2A Justice Department spokesperson, quoted by Raw Story, called the complaint politically motivated, said violence is not protected by the First Amendment, and said the DOJ and FBI must investigate any potential violations of federal law; Raw Story notes the complaint concerns nonviolent protests. NBC News reported that the FBI and Justice Department had not immediately responded. 2 1 Left · 2Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) said the disclosure is another instance of Trump weaponizing the Justice Department against perceived political enemies, asked how many more investigations were opened under White House pressure, and hoped others would come forward; Raw Story reports he also wrote to Attorney General Todd Blanche and Patel citing "grave concerns about the rule of law." 1 2 Left · 1Fields was represented by the Government Accountability Project and David Laufman, a former senior Justice Department national security official; NBC notes hundreds of FBI agents and DOJ attorneys have resigned or been fired since Trump returned to office. 1