Three former FBI agents who were involved in the federal investigation of President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, the FBI, and the Justice Department. They claim they were fired for their work on the case and denied due process.
The lawsuit, submitted in U.S. District Court in Washington, includes Jamie Garman, Blaire Toleman, and Michelle Ball as plaintiffs. They seek class-action status for other former agents who say they were removed under similar conditions.
The complaint states that the three agents were experienced investigators of public corruption. They had been assigned to special counsel Jack Smith’s team but were terminated after years of service.
The complaint reads, “Defendants, the current Director of the FBI, Kashyap P. Patel, and Attorney General Pamela J. Bondi, have, since early 2025, launched a public campaign to remove Plaintiffs from federal service because Defendants viewed them as political opponents.”
The lawsuit argues that the firings were done without cause and without giving the agents a fair opportunity to respond.
HOULAHAN: I’m asking whether those FBI agents were fired because they were involved in the investigation of document handling by President Trump, not for behavior issues. Is that your understanding?
KASH PATEL: I can’t comment because there’s pending litigation
HOULAHAN: I’m… pic.twitter.com/sYpnmL9B9p
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 19, 2026
This case is the second lawsuit filed this month by former FBI agents who claim they were dismissed for their involvement in the election investigation, known within the FBI as “Arctic Frost.” CBS News reported that this new complaint suggests that at least 50 former agents have been fired in a similar way, with that number possibly increasing.
The three agents stated in a release to The Associated Press that being FBI agents “was the highest honor of our lives” and that they “followed the facts wherever they led and never compromised our integrity.” Their lawyer, Dan Eisenberg, said the case aims to protect “fundamental constitutional protections for FBI employees,” emphasizing that law enforcement officers should operate with loyalty to “facts and the truth.”
The lawsuit claims that the three plaintiffs were fired in October and November 2025, after serving between eight and 14 years of what the complaint describes as “exemplary and unblemished” service. The lawsuit requests the court to reinstate them and recognize that their constitutional rights were violated. If class-action status is granted, other agents dismissed since January 20, 2025, could also seek reinstatement through this case.
The investigation at the heart of the dispute resulted in Smith’s 2023 indictment of Trump for alleged efforts to reverse his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Smith eventually dropped that case, along with the prosecution related to classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, after Trump won the 2024 election. He cited long-standing Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
Sen. Durbin: Over the past year, Trump, AG Bondi, and FBI Director Kash Patel have systematically dismantled the FBI. Most recently, Patel reportedly fired at least 6 agents who’d been assigned to work related to Trump’s mishandling of classified documents. Several of the fired… pic.twitter.com/FWQHv2YD1Q
— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) March 24, 2026
The complaint also claims that the firings occurred after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley made public internal records linked to Arctic Frost. These documents revealed that Smith’s team had subpoenaed days of phone records from some Republican lawmakers, a move that angered Trump supporters in Congress.
The suit accuses Patel and Bondi of coordinating the removals while publicly accusing agents and prosecutors involved in Smith’s work of misusing federal law enforcement.
The plaintiffs assert that these claims were false and damaging to their reputations. This lawsuit adds to the increasing number of legal challenges over personnel decisions at the FBI under Patel.
The AP noted that other dismissed employees who have also filed lawsuits include agents depicted kneeling during a 2020 racial justice protest, an agent trainee who displayed an LGBTQ+ flag at his workspace, and senior FBI officials who were removed last year.
