FBI fires several analysts tied to disputed ‘Catholic ideology’ memo

FBI director Kash Patel. Photograph: Andrew Thomas/CNP/Andrew Thomas - CNP/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen FBI director Kash Patel. Photograph: Andrew Thomas/CNP/Andrew Thomas - CNP/Shutterstock FBI fires several analysts tied to disputed ‘Catholic ideology’ memo Firings are part of a broader personnel purge under under the leadership of director Kash Patel, a Trump loyalist Several FBI analysts tied to the creation of a 2023 memo warning of a potential threat from Catholic “violent extremists” were fired on Friday, according to their lawyer, the latest wave of terminations under the leadership of its director Kash Patel. The fired employees included four intelligence analysts and a supervisory analyst. The FBI declined to comment. “This action is manifestly unjust, completely unsupported by the facts, and subverts standard FBI policy and procedure,” their lawyer, David Laufman, said in a statement. “These individuals deserved far better for the exceptional and faithful public service they rendered to protect our country.” The January 2023 intelligence product produced by analysts in the FBI’s Richmond, Virginia, field office emerged as a political flashpoint after it was issued, with Republicans in Congress repeatedly citing it as part of their broader contention that the FBI during Joe Biden’s presidency was targeting conservatives. Then FBI director Chris Wray repeatedly denied that charge and the bureau has said the document was quickly retracted and an internal review was launched. Merrick Garland, the attorney general under Biden, has said he was “appalled” by the memo. Earlier justice department investigations into the memo challenged the analytical tradecraft but did not find intentional misconduct by the analysts involved. The firings are part of a broader personnel purge under Patel , a loyalist of Donald Trump who has pushed out dozens of employees who either contributed to investigations of the president or who were perceived as not in alignment with the administration’s agenda. The justice department has engaged in similarly sweeping firings of prosecutors since Trump’s second presidency began in early 2025. In February, for instance, the FBI fired a group of counterintelligence agents who participated in the investigation into Trump over his retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, after his first presidency. The Richmond memo, which emerged from a domestic terrorism investigation, sought to examine a potential link between what it called “Radical Traditionalist Catholic” ideology and racially and ethnically motivated extremists. It warned of the potential for violence and also highlighted what the authors described as “new avenues for tripwire and source development”. FBI leadership quickly condemned those findings once the document became public. An internal FBI review described in a 2023 letter to Congress and based on interviews with 26 people “found that all individuals involved i