In a recent development, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent, Zach Schoffstall, who was dismissed for refusing to endorse a warrant against a right-wing group, has successfully unsealed documents pertinent to the case.
Schoffstall, who previously worked as a supervisory agent in the FBI's Salt Lake City division, was compelled to leave his position during the Biden administration due to his refusal to pursue the Patriot Front organization.
As reported by the Daily Caller, Schoffall's dismissal came after he declined to sign off on a warrant against the Patriot Front, a right-wing organization. Empower Oversight, a group advocating for whistleblowers, filed a motion requesting the government to unseal the warrant. After a 90-day period, the government finally conceded and released the document, according to Schoffstall. The only redacted information was the name of the supervisory agent.
In 2022, thirty-one members of the Patriot Front were apprehended following their protest at an LGBT event in Idaho. They were subsequently charged with conspiracy to riot. Schoffstall alleges that both the U.S. Attorneys Office (USAO) in Idaho and the FBI pressured him to approve the warrant, but he stood his ground. The government then sought other agents who would comply, even considering one who was not privy to the investigation.
Schoffstall's resistance came at a high price - his career. He stated, It is my opinion based on the facts known to me that the FBI, DOJ, and Idaho US Attorneys Office sought to conceal this search warrant from me because it would be factual evidence in support of my whistleblower complaints to Congress and my administrative complaints against the government.
The warrant in question sought permission to search the electronic devices of Patriot Front members. The supporting affidavit, obtained by the Caller, attempted to establish a weak link between the protesters and the riots that took place in Charlottesville and at the Capitol building on January 6, 2021.
The affidavit tried to connect Patriot Front to the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which resulted in the death of a counter-protester and injuries to several others. The FBI documents alleged that the now-defunct Vanguard America eventually evolved into Patriot Front, which was not formed until after the rally.
The affidavit also cited training videos on Patriot Fronts website as evidence of the group potentially preparing for violent conflict, labeling them as military-type drills. It also referenced the events of January 6, 2021, noting that the Patriot Front protesters carried shields at the LGBT protest, similar to the shields used as weapons by rioters at the Capitol.
In his declaration, Schoffstall referred to an email from the FBIs Counterterrorism Division (CTD) regarding Thomas Rousseau, a member of Vanguard America who later formed Patriot Front. The email revealed that an FBI investigation found Rousseau stated he did not want to participate in violence and reprimanded members who did, even expelling them from the organization.
Schoffstall's declaration also highlighted that the FBI CTD communications led him to believe that the bureau was aware of Patriot Fronts distasteful but constitutionally protected protest activity, and the efforts by its leadership to prevent and avoid acts of violence by its members.
A summary for FBI Executive Management stated that Patriot Front was formed for lawful, First Amendment activity. The group subscribes to Racially Motivated Violent Extremism ideology but is not formed for an unlawful purpose, a June 16, 2022 summary sent to Schoffstall read.
Despite this, Schoffstall was ultimately forced out of the bureau for refusing to pursue the group. He stated, I also believe that the FBI, DOJ, and US Attorneys office knew what they did was wrong and they had misled the court with their affidavit.
The aggressive pursuit of the Patriot Front case by the government yielded little results Rousseaus case never went to trial and other members received lenient sentences. Some were jailed for a few days for conspiracy to riot and fined $1000, while twenty other members accepted plea deals and were released without a fine.
Schoffstall believes that the Department of Justice (DOJ) should fulfill its promise to set up a weaponization task force to investigate allegations of abuse by members of the DOJ, US Attorneys Offices, the FBI, and other organizations within the DOJs purview.
On her first day in office, Attorney General Pam Bondi established a Weaponization Working Group to investigate various cases of weaponization during the Biden administration. The group will examine the FBI memo targeting Catholics and prosecutions of pro-life activists under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.
FBI Director Kash Patel has pledged to tackle the weaponization of the FBI, and Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard has committed to ending politicization in the intelligence community.
Schoffstall believes that whistleblowers like him should be given the opportunity to advise the government on weaponization and whistleblower protection. He stated, I believe the FBI and DOJ should reinstate myself and others who have been wrongfully retaliated against, terminated, and/or suspended for reporting or resisting misconduct in those agencies.
Garret OBoyle, another FBI whistleblower, was indefinitely suspended without pay after the bureau accused him of leaking information to the media. However, OBoyle maintains that he only made protected disclosures to Congress about the politicization he witnessed in the agency.
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