F.B.I. Reassigns Agents Who Knelt During Racial Justice Protests in 2020

The F.B.I. is reassigning several female agents in supervisory positions who knelt during demonstrations protesting police violence in the District of Columbia in 2020, according to several people familiar with the matter.

The move has raised concerns among current and former bureau employees that the F.B.I. is taking action against agents and analysts who were involved in situations denounced by allies of President Trump and the right-wing news media. The agents appear to have been offered no reason for the decision, according to those familiar with the matter.

It comes after Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, testified before Congress during his confirmation hearing in late January that he would not settle scores inside the bureau.

“And as I told you in your office, I have no interest, no desire and will not, if confirmed, go backwards,” Mr. Patel told Senator Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat who serves on the Judiciary Committee. “There will be no politicization at the F.B.I. There will be no retributive actions taken by any F.B.I., should I be confirmed as the F.B.I. director.”

The news of the reassignments was reported earlier by CNN. F.B.I. leadership has the authority to reassign employees based on the needs of the bureau, but the decision to reassign the agents five years later is being viewed as retaliatory by former and current agents.

It is not clear if the F.B.I. has referred the agents to the division of the bureau responsible for investigating allegations of misconduct, as would be typical. Regardless, it is highly unusual for the F.B.I. to revisit conduct that had been scrutinized five years earlier.