Two groups of FBI agents sue to prevent DOJ from creating list of agents who worked J6, Trump cases

The lawsuits come after the Trump administration fired roughly a dozen Justice Department attorneys who worked with former special counsel Jack Smith in his prosecutions of Trump.

Published: February 4, 2025 3:53pm

Two groups of FBI agents on Tuesday filed separate lawsuits attempting to block the Justice Department from compiling lists of agents who worked on January 6 cases and on President Donald Trump's criminal cases, citing a fear of retaliation.

The lawsuits, which were filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., were brought by the FBI Agents Association, and Center for Employment Justice, on behalf of anonymous FBI agents. The lawsuits were filed around the same time that the Justice Department set as the deadline for the names, per Politico.

The lawsuits argue that the compilation of agents would violate First Amendment rights, and the federal Privacy Act.

The first lawsuit cites a call from Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio to punish a federal agent involved in his seditious conspiracy prosecution tied to the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill in 2021.

“This bell cannot be unrung, and once the Plaintiffs’ personal information is released it will be eternally available on social media,” attorneys with the FBI Agents Association argued. 

The second lawsuit included screenshots of a survey that attorneys argued the Justice Department intends to use to identify thousands of agents who worked on the Trump criminal cases.

“Plaintiffs legitimately fear that the information being compiled will be accessed by persons who are not authorized to have access to it,” the attorneys argue. “Plaintiffs further assert that even if they are not targeted for termination, they may face other retaliatory acts such as demotion, denial of job opportunities or denial of promotions in the future.”

The lawsuits come after the Trump administration fired roughly a dozen Justice Department attorneys who worked with former special counsel Jack Smith in his prosecutions of Trump.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.

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