High-ranking Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) officers have been targeting former members of the U.S. military who became FBI agents, apparently discriminating against their for their political beliefs. Some were even targeted for removal from the agency, according to whistleblower disclosures presented to the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee this week.
The disclosures state several former servicemen were accused by Jeffrey Veltri, the deputy assistant of the FBI’s Security Division, alongside Dena Perkins, an assistant section chief, of “disloyalty to the United States” after displaying characteristics similar to those of a Donald Trump supporter.
The characteristics are said to have included refusing to wear a face mask, refusing to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, and participating in religious activities.
Agents were even stripped of security clearances following the accusations, and were forced out despite there being “no indication that any of the individuals had any affiliation to a foreign power or held any belief against the United States,” the disclosures explain.
The claims add that Ms. Perkins ordered investigations to contact ten police departments where employees lived to ascertain whether there were allegations or legal violations by the agents. “During the process, Perkins was attempting to provide evidence so she could terminate this employee because he was ‘Disloyal to the United States,'” the disclosures continue.
The FBI denied the allegations to The Washington Times, referring to them as “outrageous and demonstrably false.” However, the agency has been found to be weaponizing its resources to monitor and surveil supporters of the 45th President in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.