Patel Pushes Out More FBI Leaders and Agents in Renewed Purge

FBI Director Kash Patel resumed terminating and sidelining senior officials and agents from offices across the US this week who were involved in investigations against President Donald Trump or the Jan. 6 insurrection, said multiple people familiar with the situation.

Estimated to total at least a dozen, the firings and removals included a former Washington office leader overseeing the Jan. 6 investigations, the newly installed acting head of the New York field office, and Miami agents who’d worked on the classified documents case at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.

Two of the people, who like others spoke anonymously about personnel matters, said that some of the terminated employees were initially investigated by the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility. The internal misconduct office recommended those employees face discipline, such as short suspensions, but did not call for them to leave the FBI. Patel overrode those determinations and removed the employees instead, the two individuals said.

The developments signal a renewed Trump administration effort to purge the FBI of employees deemed disloyal to the president, following multiple prior rounds of forced exits last year. They coincided with former Special Counsel Jack Smith testifying before the House Thursday about his pursuit of two criminal cases against Trump.

Two of those pushed out had led the FBI’s New Orleans field office during a period in which they were scrutinized for their handling of the Bourbon Street attack on New Year’s day 2025. One of those officials, Lyonel Myrthil, ran the New Orleans office following a stint as assistant special agent in charge in Washington in which he oversaw part of the FBI’s response to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Vanessa Tibbits was placed on administrative leave earlier in the week just a few weeks after rising to become the acting assistant director in charge—or top official—at the bureau’s massive New York field office. Tibbits, a 20-year FBI veteran, previously was a senior adviser to former FBI Director Christopher Wray.

The FBI also forced out the special agent in charge of its Atlanta office, the people said.

An FBI representative declined to comment.

Some of the previously fired FBI officials have sued the administration, alleging they were illegally terminated.

MS NOW reported earlier on the latest FBI firings.