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FBI tells employees not to celebrate Pride Month in official capacity or on bureau time

Pride flag at Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters, June 2023
FBI via Facebook

Pride flag at Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters, June 2023

They are free to celebrate on their own time and in a personal capacity, said an FBI email.

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Employees at the Federal Bureau of Investigation are free to celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride Month — but only away from the office and on their own time.

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“There should be no official FBI actions, events, or messaging regarding Pride Month,” said an email sent Thursday by FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs Ben Williamson to assistant directors in charge and special agents in charge. It was obtained and first reported by Fox News. Williamson said he had received numerous questions about Pride Month. He added that employees are free to observe Pride in their “personal capacity” or on their own time.

“But on FBI time, using FBI resources and your Bureau affiliation, you and your divisions are expected to take no official actions or issue any specific messaging,” he said. This “in no way lessens the FBI’s commitment to serve and protect every American in our country or welcoming colleagues from all walks of life,” he continued, but “what it does mean is ensuring that the American people see we are focused only on our core mission.”

This comes after Donald Trump ended all diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the federal government.

There were several Pride Month observances by the FBI under President Joe Biden. This included flying the Pride flag at its Washington, D.C., headquarters, and agent participation in Pride events. For instance, agents from the FBI field office in Kansas City, Missouri, took part in that city’s Pridefest in 2023, wearing rainbow-striped shirts.

“The FBI’s goal was simple: make sure everyone who attended the festival knew they could come to the Bureau to report hate crimes — whether they were a victim or a witness,” the bureau said in a 2023 press release about the Kansas City event. “The FBI also encouraged LGBTQIA+ community members to consider a job with the FBI. And the FBI wanted to foster a relationship between law enforcement and the community.”

The FBI did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News, and The Advocate could not reach the bureau’s national press office for comment.

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Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.