Twelve fired FBI agents are alleging that they were unlawfully sacked because they knelt during a racial justice protest in Washington DC five years ago.
In a recently filed lawsuit, the former agents argue that their decision to kneel - adopting a gesture used by demonstrators - helped to deescalate a tense protest situation in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd.
The agents believe they were fired on the orders of FBI boss Kash Patel, who is named as a defendant.
Their termination letters accused them of "a lack of impartiality" in their duties, they say. The FBI has declined to comment on the case.
The dozen sacked agents - nine women and three men - say they had been "confronted by a mob" when deployed in the US capital city on 4 June 2020, and were responding to a "dangerous situation" for which they were ill-prepared.
