The FBI draws agents photographed on their knees from George Floyd Protest, American media reports

The FBI dismissed a group of agents who were photographed on their knees during a racial justice demonstration against the death of George Floyd, reports the American media, citing anonymous sources familiar with the issue.

The agents would have taken their knee alongside others during a demonstration in Washington DC in 2020. Floyd, a black man, had been killed by a police officer who kneel on the neck in May of the same year, triggering a global outcry.

Between 15 and 20 agents would have been dismissed on Friday – although the exact number is not clear.

The association of FBI agents condemned its dismissal in a statement, saying that their rights had been raped. The FBI refused to comment on the reports when approached by the BBC.

The reported layoffs arise as the Trump administration seeks to purge what it considers as policies and officials of so-called “awakened” of all parts of the federal government.

Several right -wing commentators had criticized agents and police who were photographed on their knees on social networks at the time.

But their supporters argue that the agency was a tactic to reduce tensions with demonstrators, rather than reporting that agents agreed with their opinions.

The act has become a symbol of dissent against racism, while the viral images showed the killer of Floyd, the white police officer Derek Chauvin, on his knees on his neck when he was pinned on the ground for more than nine minutes.

An official post mortem examination revealed that Floyd died of a heart attack caused by the compression of the neck. Chauvin is currently serving a 22 and a half sentence for the murder of Floyd.

Taking the knee had also been used in the United States as a demonstration against racial injustice and police brutality before the murder of Floyd – notably by former NFL Colin Kaepernick player.

Friday’s mass dismissal is the last of a series of FBI shooting.

The agency’s interim former director, Brian Driscoll, former deputy director in charge of the Washington field office, Steven Jensen, and Spencer Evans, former special agent in charge of the Las Vegas field office, were all released recently.

Earlier this month, the three former agents continued the director of the FBI Kash Patel and the American prosecutor General Pam Bondi, alleging that the officials had dismissed them to appease President Donald Trump.