President Donald Trump is alleged to have directed an investigation of anti‑ICE demonstrators in Los Angeles after viewing a video of protesters using megaphones to warn of immigration enforcement activities. Former acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, now a federal appeals judge, is also accused of telling the head of the FBI’s LA field office to open a probe of demonstrations outside the city’s federal building, according to NBC News.
The allegations stem from a whistleblower complaint filed by former FBI supervisory intelligence analyst Jill Fields. Fields says she was told the investigation would be opened because “the president wants this.” She also claims FBI agents were pulled away from drug‑cartel cases to create optics for the president, and that she was excluded from meetings where directives were allegedly given face‑to‑face to avoid documentation. Fields resigned after learning she would no longer oversee three FBI programs, an action she describes as retaliatory.
Senator Alex Padilla of California forwarded the complaint to Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel. Padilla noted that FBI analysts found no evidence the protesters committed a crime or posed a threat, calling the allegations “deeply alarming.” White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said the claims were false, emphasizing that the First Amendment does not protect violent rioting, obstruction, or assault of law enforcement.
In a joint statement, the Justice Department and FBI said they have a responsibility to investigate potential violations of federal law, including conspiracies to impede law enforcement and assaults on federal officers. The DOJ and FBI also highlighted that none of the cited demonstrations involved violence, unlike larger protests later in the year. The case follows earlier whistleblower complaints against Bove, who denied telling Justice Department subordinates to ignore court orders related to a mass deportation agenda. Hundreds of FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors have resigned or been fired since Trump returned to the White House last year, many of them involved in investigations of Trump or the January 6 rioters.
