He Put Up A Flag At Work. Then Kash Patel Fired Him For It.

A longtime FBI employee who says he was fired last month for hanging an LGBTQ+ Pride flag at his workspace has filed a lawsuit in federal court.

David Maltinsky, a decorated intelligence specialist, spent 16 years working in the Los Angeles Field Office and had completed nearly four months of special agent training when he received a letter signed by FBI Director Kash Patel telling him he had been “summarily dismissed” from the agency for the “inappropriate display of political signage” at his workspace.

Maltinsky’s lawsuit, , known for its rattlesnake and “Don’t Tread on Me” message, and the Punisher flag, with a black and white skull. Both of these flags have been associated with far-right and right-wing movements.

Maltinsky’s firing is part of a pattern of firings across the FBI by Patel — and more broadly, by the Trump administration across the federal government. After Trump signed an executive order to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs in January, many people employed in DEI for the federal government — including many women, people of color and LGBTQ+ people — lost their jobs.

Last month, former FBI official Michael Feinberg slammed Patel for firing Maltinsky, who at that point remained unnamed.

“What this employee was doing was not at all out of line, out of the norm or at all inappropriate,” Feinberg told MSNBC. “It’s absolute madness, and the fact that Kash Patel would go after this individual is lunacy.”

Maltinsky told CBS News that after Trump was reelected, some LGBTQ+ FBI employees were fearful that the administration would make a list of employees who had self-selected their sexual orientation or gender identity. He said that many of his gay colleagues and allies have since removed Pride flags.

The administration has since terminated hundreds of employees whose backgrounds or actions critique Trump and his far-right, anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-DEI agenda. In February, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, fired more than 100 intelligence officers after far-right activist Chris Rufo posted screenshots of a private chat in which employees discussed topics around gender-affirming care, transition and polyamory. In September, the FBI fired at least 15 agents who were photographed kneeling during the 2020 protests after the police killing of George Floyd. The administration has also cracked down on agents who were accused of working on criminal cases involving Trump.

Maltinsky’s lawyers said in a statement that this case speaks to part of the Trump administration’s larger purge of federal employees.

“This case is about far more than one man’s career—it’s about whether the government can punish Americans simply for saying who they are,” Christopher Mattei, Maltinsky’s lawyer, said in a statement. “David’s dream was to serve our country as an FBI Special Agent. When that dream was cruelly taken from him, he stayed true to his oath and is now fighting to protect the rights of all Americans.”