Fact Check: Did Kash Patel fire FBI agents for kneeling during the 2020 George Floyd protests?
WASHINGTON, DC: A viral post has brought renewed attention to FBI Director Kash Patel’s decision to fire agents who knelt during the 2020 George Floyd protests in Washington, DC.
The post presents the claim as breaking news, but the dismissals reportedly took place in September 2025. The former agents challenged the decision, arguing that they knelt to calm tensions rather than make a political statement. Let's fact-check the claim.
Claim: Kash Patel fired agents who knelt during 2020 George Floyd protests
📷BREAKING: FBI Director Kash Patel has now officially FIRED all the agents who kneeled during the George Floyd riots in 2020! https://t.co/udMbFJlrLK
— Debbie (@debbieliz56) October 20, 2026
The X post claimed that FBI Director Kash Patel had fired agents who knelt during the 2020 George Floyd protests in Washington, DC. It presented the claim as breaking news and included a graphic of Patel under a “BREAKING” banner.
The post stated, “BREAKING: FBI Director Kash Patel has now officially FIRED all the agents who kneeled during the George Floyd riots in 2020!”
The claim has drawn renewed attention to personnel changes under Patel’s leadership. Several former FBI employees have challenged their dismissals in court, raising questions about political retaliation and the bureau’s impartiality. Recent legal action has also brought the issue back into the news.
Fact Check: False; the incident occurred in 2025
The claim is false and misleading because it presents an old event as breaking news. The FBI fired roughly 12 to 20 agents in September 2025, not October 2026.
On June 4, 2020, FBI agents from the Washington Field Office responded to the George Floyd protests in Washington, DC. Some agents knelt when a large crowd confronted them.
They later said they knelt to de-escalate tensions because they were outnumbered and lacked riot gear and training. Photos of the incident circulated widely. Earlier reviews under the previous administration found no misconduct.
After Kash Patel became FBI director in February 2025, the bureau demoted some of the agents and launched a new internal review.
In September 2025, the agents received termination letters that cited “unprofessional conduct and a lack of impartiality in carrying out duties, leading to the political weaponization of government.”
In December 2025, the fired agents sued Patel and other officials, seeking reinstatement, back pay, and a ruling that their dismissals were unlawful. The case remains active.
By describing the dismissals as “BREAKING” news and saying Patel “has now officially FIRED” the agents, the post suggests that the firings happened recently, in October 2026. However, no credible reports indicate that the FBI has newly fired these agents in 2026.
