FILE PHOTO: A sign on the wall of the U.S. Department of Justice building in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 14, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo

By David Hood-Nuño

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A former longtime Federal Bureau of Investigation employee is suing the agency and U.S. Department of Justice alleging he was fired over displaying a Progress Pride Flag in his office, according to a lawsuit filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

David Maltinsky had worked at the FBI as an intelligence specialist since 2009, and displayed the flag — which flew in front of the FBI's Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles in 2021 — in his office, gifted to him by the agency itself, according to the complaint. It also states that Maltinsky displayed the flag for several years in his office with the permission of two supervisors.

The complaint alleges that FBI Director Kash Patel unjustly fired Maltinsky in October because he "exercised poor judgment with an inappropriate display of political signage in [his] work area during [his] previous assignment at the Los Angeles Field Office," according to the lawsuit, which cites Maltinsky's termination letter.

"I believe I was fired not because of who I am, but what I am: a proud gay man," Maltinsky said in a statement.

The lawsuit comes as President Donald Trump's administration continues to attack diversity, equity and inclusion in the federal government, and the FBI fires employees at an unprecedented clip.

"It is obvious that David is being targeted for political reasons by Kash Patel," said Christopher Mattei, a partner for Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder and lead counsel representing Maltinsky. "But that does not convert the display of a Pride Flag to a partisan political expression; to the contrary, it was a personal expression of his own identity."

The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

When Maltinsky was fired, he had completed 13 of 16 weeks at the agency's Special Agent Training Academy at Quantico. Previously, he worked as an intelligence specialist supporting the agency's public corruption and cybercrime investigations. Maltinsky also received multiple accolades for diversity and inclusion at the agency, and believes that's why he was fired, he said in a statement.

According to the complaint, Patel’s actions violated Maltinsky's First and Fifth Amendment rights, amounting to retaliation for protected expression, viewpoint discrimination, and denial of equal protection under the law. Mattei said Maltinsky is only seeking reinstatement at the agency.

(Reporting by David Hood-Nuño; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)