FBI whistleblower says White House pushed unconstitutional probe of protesters

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IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.Skip to ContentAdd to GoogleFBI whistleblower: WH pushed unconstitutional investigation into protesters01:52Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleOct. 6, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT / Updated Oct. 6, 2026, 12:25 PM EDTBy Ryan J. ReillyWASHINGTON — The Trump administration pushed the FBI to investigate Los Angeles protesters in violation of their constitutional rights and the bureau’s policies, a former FBI supervisor alleges in a new whistleblower complaint.

Jill Fields, a former supervisory intelligence analyst in the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, made a formal whistleblower complaint to Senate Judiciary Committee leaders over the federal response to anti-ICE protest activity around federal buildings, as well as in a residential area, early last year.

Fields asked Congress and the Justice Department’s watchdog to investigate the allegations, her attorneys said in a letter to lawmakers. She says they violated the First Amendment right to free speech and to peaceably assemble.

Fields says Emil Bove, then the acting deputy attorney general, told the head of the field office to open an investigation into activities outside the federal building even though, she says, the activities were protected free speech. Separately, she says the White House gave a directive to FBI Director Kash Patel to investigate a group of protesters using megaphones during immigration enforcement operations after FBI agents had conducted a check into the conduct and declined to open an investigation.

President Donald Trump had viewed a video of people using megaphones to alert residents about immigration activities, advise them of their legal rights and encourage them not to open their doors unless immigration enforcement agents had signed judicial warrants, according to the letter.

A person whose name is redacted in the complaint told Fields that an investigation would be opened because “the President wants this investigation,” Fields’ whistleblower complaint says.

The protests were staged across Los Angeles after the Trump administration launched an immigration enforcement operation. Fields said the FBI’s Los Angeles office had pulled agents off active cartel cases to satisfy what a supervisor described as “optics” designed to “make a show for the president.” The area would be the scene of major protests later in the year during an immigration surge in cities nationwide.

A Justice Department spokesperson called the whistleblower complaint politically-motivated and said that violence is not protected by the First Amendment, though the complaint focused on non-violent protests.

“Under President Trump, the Department of Justice will continue to vigorously uphold the First Amendment rights of all Americans and restore the rule of law,” the spokesperson said. “The DOJ and FBI have a responsibility to investigate any potential violations of federal law, and conspiracies to impede federal law enforcement and assaults on federal officers are against the law.”

The FBI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Justice Department officials have previously said government workers need to follow the Trump administration’s priorities. Last week, Justice Department leaders filed an administrative complaint about federal judges who made remarks to the media about the impact the surge in immigration enforcement had on their courtrooms.

Fields says supervisors were told not to put things in writing, so many of the directives came in face-to-face meetings. She says she didn’t know whether any formal investigation was opened because she was excluded once she refused to participate.

Fields consulted with a senior FBI official in charge of privacy and civil liberties matters, who expressed dismay about the investigation and subsequently told Fields she planned to resign, according to the complaint.

Fields, too, resigned from the bureau, after she was informed that she would be removed from heading three programs, a decision she believes constituted retaliation for making protected internal disclosures. The FBI’s actions, according to the letter, “created a chilling effect within the workforce” and “signaled to other employees that raising constitutional or legal concerns could carry professional consequences.”

The conduct “had significant consequences for constitutional rights, and the integrity and effective operation of the FBI,” according to the complaint.

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif.Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call via GettyHundreds of FBI agents and Justice Department attorneys have resigned or been fired since Trump returned to office, particularly those who were involved in investigating him, and former Justice Department employees have expressed concerns that the nation’s top law enforcement agency is doing the bidding of the president.

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., told NBC News that Fields’ disclosure is another instance of Trump’s weaponizing the Justice Department to go after his perceived political enemies. Padilla, who himself was forcibly removed from a news conference featuring then-Homeland Security Kristi Noem in June 2025, is the ranking member of the Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, citizenship and border safety.

“How many more of these investigations have been opened up because of political pressure coming from the White House, despite the questions and concerns about legality and constitutionality?” Padilla said.

“That’s going to be a significant challenge, but it begins with good, honorable professionals being willing to come forward and tell us what’s going on and what’s wrong with what’s going on,” Padilla said. “We’re hoping others may be inspired, as well.”

In a letter Padilla sent to Attorney General Todd Blanche and Patel, Padilla wrote that the allegations in the Fields disclosure “raise grave concerns about the rule of law under your leadership, the diversion of resources from ongoing criminal investigations, and the testimony that you provided under oath to Congress.”

The senator asked for officials to preserve information about the investigation and send any details to his office.

Fields was represented by the nonprofit Government Accountability Project and David Laufman, a former top official in the Justice Department’s National Security Section.

ShareAdd NBC News to GoogleRyan J. ReillyRyan J. Reilly is a justice reporter for NBC News.