Whistleblower Alleges Presidential Order
A disclosure from a whistleblower asserts that President Donald Trump instructed the FBI to look into Los Angeles demonstrators who were protesting his immigration enforcement measures. NBC, which reviewed the filing, identified the complainant as Jill Fields, a former supervisory intelligence analyst at the FBI's Los Angeles field office. California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla, a member of the Senate judiciary committee, confirmed that his office obtained a copy of the complaint. The protests occurred in early 2025 near federal buildings and in residential neighborhoods.[S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6]
The complaint claims that Emil Bove, who was acting deputy attorney general at the time, told Akil Davis, who led the Los Angeles field office, to launch a probe into the demonstrators' conduct outside federal buildings. Several FBI personnel reportedly questioned whether these demands were lawful, and Fields regarded the protests as protected speech. The filing also says Trump viewed a TikTok video of protesters in Alhambra, California, who cautioned neighbors about federal immigration officers and explained their legal rights. The White House subsequently had Kash Patel order the Los Angeles field office to investigate the people in that video, reportedly because the president was upset by it.[S1]
Internal Doubts and a Dedicated Squad
Even though Fields's team concluded the protesters' conduct was constitutionally protected and that evidence was lacking, a coworker informed Fields that the president sought the investigation. Fields says her supervisor conceded the probe was unconstitutional yet maintained the order had to be carried out. A 10-agent immigration squad was assembled, with some members reassigned from active cartel investigations to fulfill the White House's demands. Fields challenged the operational rationale, but her supervisor characterized it as optics meant to put on a show for the president. Fields knew of no national security threat, federal crime, or vulnerability that could justify such inquiries.[S1]
Fields eventually left the FBI last year after being stripped of oversight of multiple programs. She attributes her reduced position to her objections regarding the protest-related investigations. In a letter addressed to attorney general Todd Blanche and Patel, Padilla laid out the allegations and posed dozens of questions, among them whether the investigations produced arrests, how many such presidential directives the Justice Department has received, and how many probes are still active.[S1]
White House and FBI Push Back
Lauren Bis, a White House spokesperson, dismissed the allegations as untrue. She maintained that the First Amendment does not shield violent rioting, obstruction of law enforcement, or assaults on law enforcement, and that those who engage in such acts will face arrest and prosecution. In a joint statement, the FBI and Justice Department pledged to keep protecting First Amendment rights and to restore the rule of law. They said they are obligated to investigate possible federal law violations, such as conspiracies to obstruct federal law enforcement and attacks on federal officers, and that violence falls outside First Amendment protection.[S1]
