""People immediately started scouring their desks of Pride flags, anything personal in nature, even," he said. "People were having meetings for weeks following [discussing how] this threat of dismissal can now come from inside your workplace.""
""There's definitely concern in the federal government, especially the FBI, that a Lavender Scare has been sparked," Maltinsky said. "I'm hoping this lawsuit will put an end to that, but the reality is, when I was fired and this political signage was in fact a Pride flag, that sent a shock wave throughout the bureau.""
David Maltinsky, 36, was terminated three weeks before graduation from the FBI Academy for displaying a Progress Pride flag at his Los Angeles workstation. Maltinsky filed a federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C. District Court alleging unlawful, retroactive punishment by FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pamela Bondi. The flag had previously been flown by the FBI and later given to him to keep. The termination prompted immediate removal of Pride flags and personal LGBTQ+ items across 56 FBI field offices, creating fear of dismissal and prompting internal meetings. The incident is described as a modern Lavender Scare and raises concerns about workplace discrimination and political influence within the bureau.
Read at Advocate.com
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