He put a flag at work. Then Kash Patel fired him for it.

A former FBI employee who says he was fired last month for hanging an LGBTQ+ Pride flag in his work space has filed a lawsuit in federal court.

David Maltinsky, a decorated intelligence specialist, spent 16 years working in the Los Angeles field office and had completed nearly four months of special agent training when he received a letter signed by FBI Director Kash Patel telling him he had been “summarily terminated” from the agency for the “inappropriate display of political signs” in his work space.

Maltinsky’s lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that Patel unlawfully fired Maltinsky and violated his rights to free speech and equal protection under the law. The lawsuit, first reported by Newsalso names Attorney General Pam Bondi, the FBI, and the Department of Justice as defendants.

Maltinsky said in the lawsuit that he had displayed a Pride flag in his Los Angeles office workspace since 2021 after a special agent presented him with several flags in recognition of his work with the FBI’s diversity initiatives.

In June 2021, FBI headquarters had authorized federal buildings across the country to fly Pride flags beneath the American flag in recognition of LGBTQ+ Pride Month. The Los Angeles office had flown a traditional rainbow Pride flag and a “Progress Pride” flag, which includes the colors black, brown, pink, blue and white to represent people of color and trans people.

“From a young age, all I have wanted to do is serve my country and ensure its safety alongside the brilliant and dedicated men and women of the FBI,” Maltinsky said in a statement to News themezone.

“I flew that Pride flag… not as a political statement, but as a symbol of inclusion, unity and equal service. These are the values ​​that once made the FBI strong. Now it is a place where people like me are targeted. I believe I was fired not because of who I am, but because of what I am: a proud gay man,” he continued.

The FBI did not immediately respond to News themezone’s request for comment.

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

In April, Maltinsky began training to become a special agent, which he had dreamed of since he was a child. He completed 16 of 19 weeks of training when he was told he would be fired, according to the lawsuit.

Prior to his firing, Maltinsky was recognized for his commitment to improving diversity and inclusion within the FBI. In 2020, he received the FBI Director’s Award of Excellence, and in 2022, he received an award from the Department of Justice for his work supporting the equal employment opportunity program.

After a gunman killed 49 people at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, Maltinsky raised his hand to help the agency improve its diversity initiatives. As a gay man, he felt he had a responsibility to make the agency more inclusive for LGBTQ+ employees, according to the lawsuit.

During his tenure in the Los Angeles field office, Maltinsky assisted agents responding to North Korean cyberattacks and traveled to Nigeria to assist in efforts to combat cybercrime.

Shortly after Trump returned to office on Jan. 20, an FBI employee in Los Angeles “reported an alleged concern” to Maltinsky’s supervisor about the flag. His boss informed him of the concern, but noted that displaying the flag was “permissible and appropriate.” Maltinsky spoke with the Los Angeles office’s chief legal counsel, who maintained that displaying the Pride flag did not violate any agency policy.

The lawsuit notes that the FBI allows employees to display other types of flags, including Gadsden Flagknown for its rattlesnake and its message “Don’t tread on me”, and the punisher flagwith a black and white skull. Both flags have been associated with far-right and far-right movements.

Maltinsky’s firing is part of a pattern of firings across the FBI by Patel and, more broadly, by the Trump administration across the federal government. After Trump signed a executive order To dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs in January, many people employed in DEI for the federal government, including many women, people of color and LGBTQ+ people – they lost their jobs.

Last month, former FBI official Michael Feinberg criticized Patel for firing Maltinsky, who at the time remained anonymous.

“What this employee was doing was not at all out of line, outside the norm or inappropriate at all,” Feinberg told MSNBC. “It’s absolutely crazy, and the fact that Kash Patel went after this guy is crazy.”

Arun Nevadar via Getty Images

Maltinsky said News that after Trump’s re-election, some LGBTQ+ FBI employees feared that the administration would make a list of employees who had self-selected their sexual orientation or gender identity. He said many of his gay colleagues and allies have since taken down Pride flags.

The administration has since fired hundreds of employees whose backgrounds or actions criticize Trump and his far-right, anti-LGBTQ+, and anti-DEI agenda. In February, Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, dismissed More than 100 intelligence agents after far-right activist Chris Rufo posted screenshots of a private chat in which employees discussed topics related to gender-affirming care, transition and polyamory. In September, the FBI fired at least 15 agents who were photographed kneeling during the 2020 protests after the police killing of George Floyd. The administration has also cracked down on officers accused of working on criminal cases involving Trump.

Maltinsky’s lawyers said in a statement that this case speaks to part of the Trump administration’s broader purge of federal employees.

“This case is about much more than one man’s career — it’s about whether the government can punish Americans simply for saying who they are,” Christopher Mattei, Maltinsky’s attorney, said in a statement. “David’s dream was to serve our country as an FBI special agent. When that dream was cruelly taken from him, he stayed true to his oath and now fights to protect the rights of all Americans.”