A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by FBI agents seeking to prevent the Justice Department from disclosing the identities of those who worked on investigations into the January 6 attack against the US Capitol, ruling that the agents’ fears of retaliation were too speculative to warrant intervention.
Judge Jia Cobb for the US District Court for the District of Columbia granted the government’s motion to dismiss the case on Thursday, finding the agents and the FBI Agents Association lacked standing to challenge potential disclosure of their identities or First Amendment retaliation claims. While Cobb acknowledged genuine fears driving the lawsuit, noting releasing plaintiffs’ identities to the public would put FBI agents at serious risk of danger, the court said legal precedent required that any threatened harm be “certainly impending” rather than a mere possibility.
The FBI Agents Association said in a statement that the government has vowed to the court not to release employee names publicly. “The court took them at their word. We are going to do the same,” the association said expressing “disappointment” with the decision amid a review of its legal options.
The litigation began in February when agents raced to court after President Donald Trump began to pardon or commute the sentences of every defendant involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, “terrified that they would be at real risk of physical harm if their identities were somehow made public.” The Justice Department’s new leadership demanded a list of FBI personnel who worked on those cases, while Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove ordered the firing of eight named agents.
When the FBI initially provided only employee identification numbers instead of names, the Justice Department insisted on actual identities. This demand came as some pardoned Jan. 6 defendants began publicly calling for FBI agents to be “doxed (or worse)” for their investigations, according to the opinion.
Some 5,000 FBI employees ultimately completed a mandatory survey identifying their roles in the case.
Cobb’s dismissal was without prejudice, allowing plaintiffs to refile claims if warranted.
The case is Doe v. Department of Justice, D. Wash., No. 1:25-cv-00325, 7/17/25.
(Updates with FBI Association statement in third paragraph.)
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