"A longtime FBI employee has filed a lawsuit alleging that he was fired for displaying a Pride flag at his desk, naming FBI director Kash Patel, the justice department and attorney general Pam Bondi as defendants. According to David Maltinsky, an intelligence specialist who had served with the bureau for 16 years, his wrongful termination earlier this year was unconstitutional and politically motivated."
"I displayed that Pride flag which in 2021 flew in front of the Wilshire federal building not as a political statement, but as a symbol of inclusion, unity and equal service. These are the values that once made the FBI strong. Now it is a place where people like me are targeted. I believe I was fired not because of who I am, but what I am: a proud gay man, he added."
David Maltinsky, an intelligence specialist who served 16 years with the FBI, filed an 18-page complaint in the US District Court for D.C. He alleges unconstitutional, politically motivated wrongful termination after being dismissed from the FBI academy last month. The complaint asserts the bureau violated his First Amendment rights and retaliated against him for protected speech after he displayed a Pride flag at his workstation with prior supervisory support and permission. The flag had flown from the bureau's Los Angeles flagpole and was given to Maltinsky in recognition of supporting FBI diversity initiatives. Maltinsky seeks a court order to restore his job.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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