WASHINGTON — A former longtime Federal Bureau of Investigation employee is suing the agency and the U.S. Department of Justice, alleging he was fired over displaying a Progress Pride Flag in his office, according to a lawsuit filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
David Maltinsky had worked at the FBI as an intelligence specialist since 2009, and displayed the flag — which flew in front of the FBI's Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles in 2021 — in his office, gifted to him by the agency itself, according to the complaint. It also states that Maltinsky displayed the flag for several years in his office with the permission of two supervisors.
The complaint alleges that FBI Director Kash Patel unjustly fired Maltinsky in October because he "exercised poor judgment with an inappropriate display of political signage in [his] work area during [his] previous assignment at the Los Angeles Field Office," according to the lawsuit, which cites Maltinsky's termination letter.
"I believe I was fired not because of who I am, but what I am: a proud gay man," Maltinsky said in a statement.
The lawsuit comes as President Donald Trump's administration continues to attack diversity, equity, and inclusion in the federal government, and the FBI fires employees at an unprecedented clip.
