FBI In Turmoil As Veteran Worker Sues After Being Fired For Hanging Pride Flag

A 16-year FBI veteran has launched a federal lawsuit, accusing the bureau of purging him for simply displaying a Progress Pride flag at his desk, a move he says amounts to systemic discrimination and a suppression of queer identity inside America's top law-enforcement agency.

David Maltinsky, a longtime intelligence specialist, filed the complaint on 19 November 2025 in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, naming FBI Director Kash Patel, the FBI, the Justice Department, and Attorney General Pam Bondi as defendants.

According to the lawsuit, Maltinsky was terminated on 1 October while in his 16th week of the FBI's 19-week special agent training programme in Quantico, just three weeks shy of graduation.

A Flag Gifted, Now Contested

At the heart of Maltinsky's case lies a Progress Pride flag, which, according to his complaint, was not some rogue decoration but was officially flown by the FBI at the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles in June 2021.

After the bureau took it down, higher-ups in the Los Angeles Field Office gave the flag to Maltinsky in recognition of his diversity work.

He displayed it at his own workstation, alongside a small placard explaining its significance. The suit claims that his two supervisors, and even the office's Chief Division Counsel, reviewed his setup and confirmed it complied with bureau policy.

The Termination: 'Poor Judgment' Or Discrimination?

In the termination letter handed to Maltinsky, FBI Director Patel wrote that Maltinsky had 'exercised poor judgment with an inappropriate display of political signage' while assigned to the Los Angeles Field Office.

But Maltinsky counters he had no other signage, and the flag was a personal expression, not a political statement.

He is suing on the grounds that his firing violated his First Amendment right to free expression, as well as his Fifth Amendment claim to equal protection. The complaint notes that other FBI employees are permitted to display politically charged symbols, including the Gadsden flag, 'thin blue line' icons, and even the Punisher skull, and the suit alleges that Patel himself has distributed challenge coins featuring those same symbols.

Decades of Service, Abrupt Exit

Maltinsky joined the FBI in 2009 after an internship in Los Angeles. Over his 16-year career, he rose through the ranks to support public-corruption and cybercrime investigations.

He was deeply involved in internal diversity efforts. He served on the FBI Bureau Equality Committee, chaired it, and helped advise on sexual orientation and gender identity policy. In recognition, he received the FBI Director's Award for Diversity and Inclusion Excellence (2020) and the Attorney General's Award for Equal Employment Opportunity (2022).

In his first television interview since filing suit, Maltinsky told CBS News that his firing has triggered fear among LGBT FBI employees. 'The ripple effect of fear has been felt', he said, noting that many colleagues have removed pride flags from their desks, and even allies are self-censoring.

His attorney, Christopher M. Mattei of Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder, called the firing 'an unlawful attack'. Mattei added, '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'.

A Broader Pattern of Alleged Purges?

Maltinsky's suit does not stand alone. Legal observers note it comes amid a wave of high-profile firings and resignations within the DOJ and FBI.

Three former senior FBI officials filed a separate lawsuit in September alleging similar retaliatory dismissals under Patel's directorship.

At its core, the Maltinsky case raises urgent questions: Can a government institution punish someone for affirming their identity? Is the expression of identity inherently political, especially when that expression was once honoured by the very organisation now punishing it?

Maltinsky maintains that the pride flag meant unity, inclusion, and equal service, values he believed the FBI once upheld. His fight is no longer merely personal; it is pitched as a defence of constitutional rights and the dignity of LGBTQ+ public servants.