A 16-year FBI veteran has filed a lawsuit alleging he was wrongfully dismissed for displaying a Pride flag at his desk, naming FBI director Kash Patel, the Justice Department and Attorney General Pam Bondi as defendants.
David Maltinsky, an intelligence specialist who joined the bureau in 2009, claims his termination was "unconstitutional and politically motivated" and violated his First Amendment rights. He is seeking reinstatement through a court order.
The complaint, lodged in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, says the flag was given to Maltinsky in recognition of his diversity work and had flown in front of the Wilshire federal building in 2021. He said he displayed it as a symbol of inclusion, not a political statement.
Maltinsky was accepted into the FBI special agent training academy at Quantico but was dismissed three weeks before graduation. A termination letter from Patel cited "poor judgment with an inappropriate display of political signage" in his work area.
Maltinsky said supervisors had approved the display and a division counsel advised it violated no policy. His lawyer, Kerrie Riggs, called the firing part of a campaign against federal employees with different views.
The lawsuit follows other claims of wrongful termination, including by senior FBI officials, and the removal of another veteran after a reported dispute over the use of a government jet. The FBI and DOJ declined to comment on the case.
