An FBI whistleblower has come forward to say he lost his badge for declining to participate in a SWAT raid on the home of a suspect in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol incursion.
FBI Special Agent Steve Friend believes this treatment of Americans in no way matches the alleged crimes.
The New York Post reported that Friend filed a whistleblower complaint with the Department of Justice on Wednesday contending the FBI’s Washington, D.C., field office has become politicized using an “overzealous” Jan. 6 investigation to harass conservatives and violate their basic constitutional rights.
The 37-year-old pointed out the raids are being conducted on Jan. 6 subjects who have mainly been accused of misdemeanor crimes such as parading on the Capitol grounds and disorderly conduct.
Friend, who said he did not vote for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential race, refused to participate in an Aug. 24 raid on a Jan. 6 subject in the Jacksonville, Florida, area, saying he was a “conscientious objector.”
“I have an oath to uphold the Constitution,” he told supervisors.
On Aug. 19, the agent first told his immediate boss, Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Greg Federico, that he believed “it was inappropriate to use an FBI SWAT team to arrest a subject for misdemeanor offenses and opined that the subject would likely face extended detainment and biased jury pools in Washington, DC,” according to the Post.
In his whistleblower complaint to DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, obtained by the Post, Friend laid out multiple violations of FBI policy relating to the Jan. 6 investigations.
He identified “manipulating” of FBI case management protocol and farming out of Jan. 6 cases to field offices across the country to build the case that right-wing domestic violence is a widespread, ongoing problem, instead of mainly related to one incident.
Further, Friend alleged that cases were being opened on innocent Americans who were nowhere near the Capitol based on anonymous tips.
He further said the FBI, post-facto, designated the grassy area outside the Capitol as a restricted area — though it was not on Jan. 6, 2021 — in order to increase the number of people subject to prosecution.
You can read more about this gut wrenching overreach by FBI below.
FBI Special Agent Steve Friend believes this treatment of Americans in no way matches the alleged crimes.
The New York Post reported that Friend filed a whistleblower complaint with the Department of Justice on Wednesday contending the FBI’s Washington, D.C., field office has become politicized using an “overzealous” Jan. 6 investigation to harass conservatives and violate their basic constitutional rights.
The 37-year-old pointed out the raids are being conducted on Jan. 6 subjects who have mainly been accused of misdemeanor crimes such as parading on the Capitol grounds and disorderly conduct.
Friend, who said he did not vote for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential race, refused to participate in an Aug. 24 raid on a Jan. 6 subject in the Jacksonville, Florida, area, saying he was a “conscientious objector.”
“I have an oath to uphold the Constitution,” he told supervisors.
On Aug. 19, the agent first told his immediate boss, Supervisory Senior Resident Agent Greg Federico, that he believed “it was inappropriate to use an FBI SWAT team to arrest a subject for misdemeanor offenses and opined that the subject would likely face extended detainment and biased jury pools in Washington, DC,” according to the Post.
In his whistleblower complaint to DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, obtained by the Post, Friend laid out multiple violations of FBI policy relating to the Jan. 6 investigations.
He identified “manipulating” of FBI case management protocol and farming out of Jan. 6 cases to field offices across the country to build the case that right-wing domestic violence is a widespread, ongoing problem, instead of mainly related to one incident.
Further, Friend alleged that cases were being opened on innocent Americans who were nowhere near the Capitol based on anonymous tips.
He further said the FBI, post-facto, designated the grassy area outside the Capitol as a restricted area — though it was not on Jan. 6, 2021 — in order to increase the number of people subject to prosecution.
You can read more about this gut wrenching overreach by FBI below.
Report: FBI Declares Agent AWOL After He Refuses to Go on 'Bogus' Jan. 6 Raids
'He had the dream job. He's been with the FBI for 12 years. He's a SWAT team member. But he just could not live with his conscience.'
www.westernjournal.com